Sakura in Shadow
by katlou303
Summary: Naruto is finally Hokage. Sasuke is infamous in the Land of Fire for being a ruthless killer. Sakura is... a chuunin. She feels content with her life, until two Uchiha brothers come by, reminding her once more that she is stuck in the shadow of others. It's time to change, become special in her own right. If only she wasn't stuck babysitting a murderer. ItaSakuSasu, AU. Post-manga.
1. Harsh Truths, Casual Surrender

The cliff underneath their feet felt fragile, the heavy rain shifting the soil to mud, the rock slippery and precarious to stand on. They stood together, shoulder-to-shoulder, save for their leader, who stood in front of them, white shirt slipping to reveal one pale, muscled shoulder, water glistening on his skin. They watched the battle beneath them with calculating eyes – wondering how risky it would be to attempt to slip away into the trees of the dark forest that lay behind them.

Sasuke tilted his head back slightly to see the battle in its entirety. There were hundreds of shinobi swarming en masse in a head-on collision. The defensive side was clearly visible – the shinobi in the thinner jackets being pushed back towards the rock face, pulling out dangerous techniques in desperation.

Hebi watched their leader cautiously, who seemed interested in the fight going on below them, black eyes scanning the crowd, occasionally brushing water out of his eyes impatiently as the rain poured on, heedless of the growing desperation of the shinobi.

"An invasion." Sasuke muttered, more to himself than the others. It was obvious. None of the shinobi had attempted to flee, meaning there was more to lose here than lives. What could be important enough to risk an entire army?

Karin took a careful step forward, mindful of the slippery rock underfoot, and said timidly, "Sasuke-kun? Shouldn't we leave? I mean, it's a bit dangerous…"

She was so loud and obnoxious most of the time, but when Sasuke got like this, quiet, intense and unapproachable, she felt so confused and afraid – Sasuke was a wild card. You couldn't truly call him unemotional, in the short time she had known him, he had displayed one emotion in particular: anger. It wasn't easy to rouse his anger, but when it flared Karin ducked. She had enough self-preservation to know not to bait a wild animal. Because that was what Sasuke was, wild and dangerous. And now, stuck in the dark and freezing cold, she was forcibly reminded that he was the most unpredictable person she had ever met.

Sasuke didn't reply, didn't make any sign that he had heard her.

Karin pursed her lips, and then, so slowly and subtly even Sasuke couldn't feel it, she probed his chakra with her own. What she felt immediately was intense interest, fascination… he was actually studying the battle, presumably searching for something his Sharingan could copy. But then suddenly, so suddenly and severely it jolted her, his chakra shuddered in shock, unexpected and unpleasant, his whole aura rippling with disquiet.

At the same time, his head had jerked to the right, his Sharingan now activated, red eyes sweeping the battlefield until he found what he was looking for, his chakra now thrumming with confusion and annoyance.

Karin followed his stare and the chakra his own had entwined with unconsciously, a clean, soothing medicinal feel to the energy Sasuke had suddenly focused on.

A young girl no older than Karin herself was on the battlefield, pink hair shining in the rain, fists up defensively, spinning around to snap a kick at a shinobi who had been sneaking up on her. Karin couldn't see much – her own eyesight coupled with rain and dark made it impossible to discern the girl's features. Still, for the girl to have caused such a violent reaction in Sasuke just by the sight of her alone, she must be someone he had known once in the past.

Karin bit back the sudden flare of jealousy at the thought of any past girl, and took another step closer to Sasuke.

"Do you know her?" She asked curiously.

Sasuke turned his head to glare at her, his eyes spinning ominously, his mouth a dark, unhappy line.

"Yes." He stated, his tone making it obvious that this girl held no happy memories for him. Karin relaxed.

"She shouldn't be here." He said, surprising Karin. Sasuke normally had to be prodded, cajoled and coaxed into merely snapping, 'go away, Karin,' so it was odd to hear him speak up without being forced.

He sounded deeply irritated that this girl would dare to be fighting anywhere near him.

The ground shifted, echoes and reverberations murmuring along the ground, stones slipping and falling off the edge of the cliff.

The girl had just _punched_ the ground, creating a crater with just her fist!

Karin gave Sasuke a shocked look, which he ignored. He didn't seem surprised at all.

The shinobi who hadn't been killed by that one deadly blow were using their own jutsu to defend themselves, ripping up boulders to throw at the girl.

She dodged the immense rocks and flew at a group of shinobi. One of them hurled a massive boulder larger than himself at her. She carried on speeding towards him, one fist outstretched to obliterate the boulder without even slowing her sprint, bits of rock flying everywhere.

"Karin, Juugo." He suddenly snapped, eyes still on the girl, "Go and see what is taking Suigetsu so long."

Karin gave Juugo a deeply unimpressed look. Having to go and tug Suigetsu from whatever flooded river he was undoubtedly enjoying with the silent giant whilst Sasuke stood making eyes at some monstrous girl was not what she had planned to do tonight. Tonight was supposed to be when they made camp on high ground. Karin had planned to sneak into Sasuke's bedroll –

"Go." Sasuke glared at them both, his tone sharp and angry.

Oh, angry Sasuke. Karin shuddered and backed up into Juugo, who kindly took her arm and led her into the forest, ignoring her annoyed glaring.

Sasuke stood alone, shirt soaked through, head held high, red eyes glaring through the gloom at the distant figure of the girl he used to know in a past life.

xxxxxxxx

The daimyo was short and sort of cheerful-looking, with a sharp tongue and a talent for coaxing chuckles out of Sakura, who normally tried to keep a friendly rapport with her clients, but felt too exhausted to keep up the friendly, amusing conversation up for long.

When the day had begun it had been sunny and clear, lulling Sakura into false sense of security, daring to hope the day may actually go as planned.

She had been tasked with accompanying a local lord to Konoha, ensuring his safety and comfort through any means. It spoke volumes of Tsunade's confidence in her that she had been allowed to go with only a small squad with her for back up.

Except now that back up was dead and the invading forces were pushing the fight closer and closer to her client's hiding place.

Yes, she had managed to stumble onto a battlefield, oblivious daimyo in tow.

Stupid.

She'd secured the man in a small, muddy hollow with a bush mostly obscuring his sodden, miserable form. With the shinobi focused on invading/defending, it was unlikely they would poke around the bushes looking for someone to kill.

And yet, here they came.

Sakura gritted her teeth and hauled the man out of the hollow with one hand, sharp ears catching the sound of the battle growing closer as more and more of the shinobi were snuffed out, chakra flaring and dying all around the forest.

The sky was inky black, stars white and clear as though sewn into a sheet of pure black cloth and hung up above the trees.

"Look, you're going to have to crawl, very quietly and slowly, over to where we hid the carriage, OK? You can drive it, the horses won't have bolted, they're trained for battle situations. Head west for another mile and a half, you should be there in no time." Sakura said urgently, hands on the little man's shoulder, urging him to understand quickly.

He looked up at her, expression fearful yet confused by something, "Why can't you drive? Are you hurt?"

This was the moment that shinobi inevitably had to put the client before themselves.

"Just take the reins, head west. You can't miss Konoha." Sakura said firmly.

She saw realisation dawn on him. He had already seen the rest of their team cut down, and now he was going have to leave one on a battlefield. Sakura hoped he didn't sue for emotional suffering.

She'd managed to coax him into crawling through the undergrowth, sniffling from fear and worry.

OK. Time for a big distraction to cover his escape. Fear slunk low and heavy in her stomach, making every step hard and uneven.

She pushed her way through the trees until she struck gold, a massive clearing teeming with shinobi.

She kicked out a man who had been sneaking up on her, breaking his neck and felling him swiftly. She had been noticed by now, groups of shinobi creeping towards her. The fear leapt in her stomach but adrenaline kicked in and smothered the sensation of terror she always felt in battle. Always, right from the start of her career as a shinobi, she could never see any fight as anything but a near-death experience.

Rain was dripping into her eyes and she couldn't even wipe it away as she ducked, weaved and punched her way through great swathes of the crowd.

She tensed her entire body, every muscle clenching in anticipation of the blow, then threw her fist down at the ground, shockwaves rippling through her arm as her fist ripped through rock and dirt. Shinobi all around leapt away, a few not as lucky, sinking below or being crushed by flying, jagged pieces of rock.

Time to get serious.

After at least half an hour of solid, uninterrupted fighting, Sakura was beginning to tire, yet she continued on. The remaining shinobi were few in number, yet strong.

One in particular was giving her a lot of trouble, capable of firing ice bullets from his hands, incredibly fast and hard. Dodging was getting gradually more difficult.

Sakura sprang backwards, landing on her hands and flipping into the air to avoid the hail of ice rocketing towards her.

She threw a spray of kunai whilst upside down, shattering several ice bullets before they could strike her, landing on her feet and rolling away from yet another barrage of ice.

Pain splintered along her arm, the bone cracking and skin splitting as one of the bullets hit its target. She sucked in a breath, tears of pain in her arms. She directed chakra to her arm, trying to numb the sensation before the agony could overcome her.

Shit, the arm was broken. She dived behind a tree to stop herself getting impaled on a particularly large spike of ice. When had it become just her and this bloody ice nin? The fight must have been taken elsewhere, to even ground, where she wasn't busy tearing up the rock beneath them and throwing it at people.

This was one of her worst match-ups. She relied heavily on her super strength, so close-combat was her best kind. This was long-range assault, impossible to attack and exhausting to dodge.

She ducked around the tree and managed to stagger out of the path of six bullets, hearing them rip through the earth behind her on impact.

The ice nin didn't seem to be running out of chakra any time soon.

Sakura ran, dodged and rolled, using those all-important evasive skills Tsunade had drummed into her. Her skin was tinged blue from cold, the constant shower of rain and icy bullets spreading bitter chill through her veins.

Her foot slipped and she fell to one knee, just for one second, but that was long enough for the nin to launch a bullet right at her face.

She threw her arms in front of her face, flinching back from the icy blow.

Her eyes opened halfway, slices of green visible as she lowered her arms when the expected impact didn't come.

A man stood in front of her, his white shirt soaked through and sticking to his skin, his sword raised to block the bullets from hitting Sakura's face, his stance casual.

Despite the dark, despite the haze of heavy grey rain, Sakura recognised him, would know that man anywhere, night or day, rain or shine.

Sasuke.

Her heart felt as though it was bulging inside her chest, the shock gripping her where she knelt, her eyes glued to the back of his head, silently willing him to turn around, to prove who he was.

He vanished.

Sakura let out a small breath, a cloud of mist escaping her mouth as she looked wildly around her, confused and scared – had she just imagined Sasuke had saved her? Her arm stung viciously.

Then a small wet noise drew her attention.

Sasuke withdrew his blade from the ice nin's back, wiping the blood on the fallen man's shirt with a look of mild distaste.

Sakura felt herself shrink back as he looked at her with those horribly empty eyes. _Bonds are a weakness_, he'd said back then when they'd met for the first time in years, before he'd attempted to drive his sword into Naruto's back.

His sword glistened now in the moonlight. He hadn't quite managed to clean it completely; Sakura could still see streaks of red on the metal, smudged by his fingerprints. She felt terror seep through her just as quickly as the cold had descended upon the clearing, rime and ice tipping every blade of glass and painting the surface of the ground from the enemy shinobi's ice attacks.

Sasuke twisted his wrist, spinning his sword effortlessly, sending his weapon flying into his other hand, his movements fluid and smooth. His eyes were completely black, so much so that they looked like little shadowy pits in his pale face from so far away.

Sakura stood up, feeling grateful she hadn't slipped or made a fool of herself yet. Her mind hadn't quite grasped the magnitude of the situation. All she knew was that Sasuke, someone whose company she would have felt completely safe in just a few years ago, was scaring her more with his dark, empty eyes and spinning blade, than the ice nin with his bloodlust had minutes before.

"What are you doing here?" He began to move towards her, his rolling, unhurried gait reminding her of a predator stalking its prey.

She took a step back, the frightened expression frozen on her face, "I accidentally fell into a war, I think. Sasuke-kun, please, please… just come back…" Her voice broke on the last few words. She turned her face away, pressing her hand against her eyes and breathing in deeply, trying to control herself.

His steps were crisp, decisive and drawing closer with every second. She pushed her drenched hair out of her face, knowing exactly how bedraggled she must look right now, slightly exasperated that even now, sixteen years old and in this situation, she still cared if she looked bad.

She was looking at the floor, anything but at the familiar angles of his face, the strong cheekbones, the hard jawline – the older, harder parody of the boy she once loved. And if she was honest with herself, she felt excited, her heart fluttering as he drew near.

A hand touched her hair and she nearly jumped out of her skin, big, childish green eyes flying up to meet his narrowed red Sharingan.

"That's it." Sasuke said softly, tomoes spinning, "You are dead."

Sakura tried to step back, legs shaking, but he stepped with her without hesitation. Her chin was tucked in, her head down, her mouth wobbling and thinking inexplicably, _this is not a game._

"That's how easy it would be for me to kill you," He continued, "You looked me in the eyes. Do you not have any survival instincts, even now? Or is there something else on your mind?"

His voice lowered, almost a whisper. She couldn't look away from his eyes, genjutsu or not, "_If you leave,_" He said, a mocking lilt to his words, "_To me, it will be the same as being alone._"

Her words.

The last words she had ever said to him in Konoha.

"_Take me with you,_" He continued, "_I promise, I'll do my best to make you happy for the rest of our lives."_

"Stop it." She said, her voice a horribly weak, timid little thing.

Sasuke's frown twisted up into a smirk, "That's your weakness, Sakura. I could kill you now. You wouldn't stop me, because you," His hand brushed her hair back in a scornful parody of a comforting, tender gesture, his fingers hard and cold against her face, "value my life above your own. Or am I wrong?"

Sakura quivered, tears spilling over and trickling down her face. She'd thought she was so strong. With her new strength, her new sensei, her self-worth. Just the sight of him was enough to erase all of that. All of the hard work, the desperate attempts to get somewhere in her life, to catch up to her two teammates, terrified of being left alone.

Valuing her life above Sasuke's. He was mocking her love, that was obvious, but he'd mistaken something.

"Yes." Sakura spoke up, a little more strength in her voice, "You're wrong. You aren't the only person I value in my life. I'd die for Naruto," The hand in her hair stilled, moving back, "For my parents. For Kakashi-sensei, for Ino. I know you think bonds are weak, but I would… would much rather have people to care about than live alone…" Even people she barely knew, blurry faces from her childhood, like her uncle, her aunt, all people she cared about.

"That's because you are _weak_." He hissed, his face in hers in a way that would have been a dream come true to her once. Once, but not now, "If someone had a kunai to my throat and told you to kill yourself, you would do it. You would be the one to die."

"For you," Sakura said quietly, "So it would be worth it."

A surprised silence.

Sasuke moved back slightly, then scoffed, "You are still the annoying child I left behind. I didn't believe it was possible you wouldn't have changed at all."

"I'm a chuunin now," Sakura said, looking at him a little sadly, because he'd never really understood her, "If you can't see how I've changed, than that's only because you weren't there to see it happen."

Sasuke's eyes were hard, no emotion flickering in those dark depths, even as his Sharingan whirred and whirred around as he looked at her.

His other hand traced her wounded arm, lightly yet with still enough pressure to make her hiss in pain.

"I think it's sad," She whispered, pain audible in her voice, "That you would give us all up so easily. I don't understand why you had to leave. What are you going to do after you kill him?"

He was silent.

"It's none of my business. But I think you didn't plan it out enough –"

"Be quiet," The hand in her hair suddenly tugged painfully, pulling her face closer to his, "You would _never_ understand. You still have your parents. You are a weak, pathetic excuse for a ninja, concerned more about being a good wife to someone who feels nothing for you than training to get stronger."

"Wanting to make you happy doesn't make me worthy of your scorn." She told him mildly, "I think… I think I'm ready to find someone who wants me back." She didn't know why she was voicing this aloud, let alone to Sasuke of all people, but it was such a novel concept, loving someone who wasn't Uchiha Sasuke, "I don't think I can wait any longer, Sasuke-kun. Not for you to love me back, but for you to stop… stop being so _selfish._ Because that's what it is, isn't it? Selfish. I-Itachi… he hurt a lot of people too, I know. But you aren't doing anything noble by doing the same…"

His blade was at her throat in a flash, "You cannot compare leaving a village to massacring your entire family," Sasuke snapped, his voice so icy and venomous that she swallowed and tried to back off, "I never wanted your love. I never encouraged any of you to get attached to me. I just wanted to get strong so I could kill him."

The sword was so cold that its touch stung her bare skin.

Sakura reached up to touch it. His eyes didn't leave hers, not even as her fingers caressed the metal.

She squeezed her hand into a fist, and the metal folded beneath her grip with a shriek.

"You don't know anything about strength." Sakura told him.

Sasuke jerked his sword away, incensed, staring at the crumpled sword in his hands, her fingerprints visible in the warped metal.

"And you don't know anything about me." She took a firm step backwards. He didn't follow.

And then he vanished with a hiss, just like that night.

The moon was full, just like that night had been, but unlike that night, she felt hands on her shoulders and a breath at her ear. Always mocking. Mocking whatever it was she felt for him, using it against her.

"If you die fighting Itachi, you'll die a tool," She cried out, "He wanted you to go after him and you'll only be doing what he wants –"

Fingertips at her throat. One squeeze and she'd be dead.

"Go on," She said boldly, shocking herself, "Do it. Kill me. Then run away. You're good at that."

"You'd just let me?" He muttered at her back.

Sakura let out a sigh, exasperated and full of self-loathing.

Sasuke's fingers squeezed lightly and she exploded into smoke, leaving a log behind.

She reappeared at the other side of the clearing, something almost proud in her stance, her chin held up, his fists clenched. He was used to seeing her slumped down, her eyes on the ground, her hands stroking through her hair timidly, her knees shaking in fear.

"Credit me with some survival instincts," She said bitterly, looking at him from across the clearing, "If you remember, I'm the smart one."

"Smart," A smirk lifted the corner of his mouth, "Oh, Sakura. Is that what they told you?"

"No," She said evenly, "Come home, Sasuke."

Her arm ached to the bone.

Sasuke was shaking his head, "You'll die, Sakura."

"Not alone." Her words were abrupt, but her meaning was clear.

Sasuke looked at her, not a single emotion gracing his handsome face, even though his words had torn through her.

"Goodbye." She whispered when he disappeared, and maybe it was just the rustle of the leaves above her, but she thought she heard an answering reply.

_Goodbye._

xxxxxxxx

**Five years later**

Konoha was still the same, even after so many years. The same proud fortress of a village, housing some of the best and worst nin in the Land of Fire. He'd been born and raised from within these walls. He could hear people shouting and laughing from within the village, could smell the salt of something cooking in the marketplace, the phantoms from his childhood still inhabiting the village.

He walked down the main path to the village, the familiar breeze lifting his hair gently from his face. He knew he was being watched closely and was aware the alarm would have already been raised.

Ah.

A team of Anbu in front of him, blocking the path. A woman with twin buns and a cat mask held a spiked maul with expert control and stance. Another woman with long, dark hair and a bird mask stood in the middle, her stance haughty and confident, and the third, a male, his posture a mere slouch, his mask a deer.

Itachi smirked, raising his hands to indicate he had no weapons.

"I surrender." He said casually, "Can I speak with Haruno Sakura?"

* * *

New stoooooooory!

Oh hello plot bunny, how nice to meet – OW! Oh my God, ow! Stop biting me! Stop!

Pretty much my reaction when this plot bunny was forcing me to write this despite EVERY OTHER BLOODY FANFICTION I NEED TO UPDATE. ARGH.

I realised something the other day.

I really do try to keep the characters, well, in character, but whenever I wrote Sakura, I slipped into Fanon!Sakura, the one who was sarcastic, stuck up for herself and mysteriously didn't give a shit about Sasuke, bewildering him and causing him to realise he luuuuuurved her. Oh dear.

Silly me.

Canon!Sakura is flirty, a bit selfish but with good intentions, cries very easily and has a hot temper. She's just as loud and prone to overreacting as Naruto – in fact, they are eerily similar.

So who the hell have I been writing about?

No longer!

This story is Sakura developing, and this scene in particular is the catalyst for her change. But I'm going to try my best to stick with canon.

And yes, Itachi really did just wander up to the Konoha main entrance and casually surrender to the people who have been hunting him for years. I know. I felt like it was something he'd do XD

Naruto's the Hokage!

Whoooo!

And the three Anbu there seem oddly familiar!

I'm happy with several characters' five years later selves, but do you have any requests for any characters? Like, how do you see them five years after the manga's over?

I'm fixed on Ino, Naruto, Lee and Kakashi, but the other characters' lives are flexible at the moment.

Sakura and the others will be about twenty-one.

I've planned this whole story out so I'm happy! Yay!

My results from my University stuff are coming back and so far I've passed everything… really scared of failing!

Sakura told Sasuke a few home-truths, but so did he, so it's all good.

So I have a written record: Sakura will be, flirty, good at talking herself out of situations, a bit of a gambler, compassionate, hot-headed and intelligent, and now, at twenty-one, much better at standing up for herself.

This is an AU, by the way, so if I diverge from canon… well, good.

Who else is disliking the way the manga is heading? It's hardly a spoiler that Sasuke turns out to be a total douchenozzle, but oh look, wimpy Sakura's back and she's brought her tears and uselessness!

Where is the Sakura who KILLED SASORI? She killed Sasori!

Oh, and in the manga, they're all making a big deal out of Tsunade being able to heal without using handseals, um, does anyone else remember Sakura healing her stomach whilst IMPALED ON A SWORD, without handseals? Yeah, me too. And that was way back in the Rescue Gaara arc. Kishimoto, please be consistent.

I also don't like what he's done to the single most badass female, Anko. Oh, you're having the life sucked out of you? Marvellous. Lying down unconscious like a swooning wench so we can all get a great view of your rack? Fanservice vs feminism, guess who wins!

By the way, if Sasuke was out of character in this chapter, it's only because he was.

XD

Oh yeah, and Itachi's reaction to Sasuke being all YOU DIED AND I WAS LIKE, SO SAD, SO I'M GONNA GO AND KILL KONOHA DESPITE THE FACT THAT YOU LOVE KONOHA was ridiculous, he didn't even give him a slap or at least look exasperated. I'd have disowned the fucker there and then.

Sorry.

Fan rage.

It burns.

**Quick poll for fun:** Who is better, Sasuke or Itachi? List your reasons why.

A) Sasuke

B) Itachi

C) Chicken pie.

See you later, my dears :)


	2. Humble Beginnings, Bound Infamy

The plant sat in patch of sunlight, the leaves glistening. It needed trimming down, dead flowers and stems crept out of the pot, leaves littering the side. The pot was new, the plant was not. A white cat peered over the pot's lip, beginning to warily nibble at a leaf experimentally.

"Yuki!" Sakura chided, heels clattering against the kitchen tiles as she ran over. The cat jumped away, furiously chewing the leaf in an effort to swallow it before Sakura could wrench it away.

"Oh come on…" Sakura muttered, bending down to seize the cat as she jumped from the counter, "This is the third time this week, for the last time, stop eating my plants!" She scowled directly into the cat's face, who scowled back at her.

She hooked a few fingers behind the cat's teeth, ignoring her wriggles to get away, pulling out the remnants of the leaf with a disgusted, "Ew…"

She released Yuki, springing up to wash her hands, covered in cat hair. Yuki was notorious for shedding, too many times had Sakura been forced to apologise to an allergic patient who kept sneezing whenever she came around their ward.

Sakura put her hands on her hip, glaring at the cat, who was now sitting on the windowsill in a dignified pose, licking her paw, as though she hadn't just been assaulted.

"Next time I'll get poisonous flowers and we'll see who's laughing." Sakura grumbled, aware that she was talking to the cat as though she understood her, but not really caring.

She dropped down on the sofa, exhausted. Her feet felt bruised and swollen, her thighs burning from all the stairs she'd had to climb that day, the taste of the stale hospital air stuck in her mouth. She wiped her brow, breathing in deeply, the smell of her plastic gloves still clinging to her hands.

She kicked off her shoes, sighing happily at the satisfying ache in her feet, now freed from the clumpy shoes she was forced to wear. She curled up on the sofa, drawing her legs up, careful not to snag her dark brown tights, resting her head on a cushion.

She closed her eyes, feeling herself sink into sleep quickly, yawning.

"SAKURA-CHAN! ARE YOU HOME?"

Naruto…

Sakura let out a growl of frustration, clawing her way off the sofa and charging over to the front door, her feet aching with every step.

"WHAT?" She snarled, yanking the door open.

Naruto, in full Hokage garb, robes and hat, blinked at her, an Anbu squad lurking down the hall. Lee stood at his side, determinedly staring forward, his posture akin to a highly-trained soldier with a poker shoved where the sun don't shine.

"Sa-Sakura-chan!" Naruto gasped, his face petrified now that he realised he had incurred Sakura's wrath, "Something's happened."

His tone pulled her out of her sleepy wrath, she now felt as awake as if someone had poured cold water over her. Naruto's face was tight and pale.

"What? What's happened?" She demanded. _Who's died?_ She thought, not daring to voice the question, "Tell me, Naruto!"

He looked at her worried expression and shook his head, "It's… I don't know how to describe it… Good or bad?"

"Well, just come in and tell me!" She said, stepping back and making a sweeping gesture, inviting him into her flat. Yuki made an irritable, grumbling sound and hopped off of the windowsill, wandering to the door to glare at the visitors.

Naruto gave the cat a cheeky grin, "Yuki-sama, can I come in?"

The cat blinked at him disdainfully and then walked off, her tail flicking about angrily.

"Let him do the usual," Naruto begged Sakura, "It's the best part of my job."

Sakura sighed, stepping back even further and nodding.

"Whoo! OK, Lee, go!" Naruto instructed, pointing at the flat.

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Lee shouted, flipping over Sakura entirely and landing in a crouch, looking around the room suspiciously.

Lee had been made Naruto's personal bodyguard the moment Naruto was instated as Hokage. Lee had burst with pride. He ran laps for weeks, trying to outrun his excitement.

He rolled over onto his stomach, peering under the sofas. Clearly spotting nothing untoward, he leapt up, somersaulting over to the kitchen, poking Sakura's plants and sniffing around.

"There's nothing in my flat that could harm Naruto." Sakura said flatly, "And get away from my plants, Lee, they're fragile."

Lee looked up, his face buried in some leaves, "My apologies, Sakura-san! I will be careful with your possessions, or I will run ten thousand laps around your flat as punishment –"

"'Kay." Sakura agreed abruptly, eyeing him closely as he handled her largest and best-looking plant.

"Oi, you know Neji told us not to encourage him with those insane punishment things…" Naruto mumbled.

"Fine. Lee, if you break anything I will break a bone in your body that I believe corresponds with the breakage you have caused to my personal property." Sakura smiled at him mischievously.

Lee gave a nervous laugh, putting the pot down as carefully as a new born baby.

Naruto couldn't hide his amusement, but his expression quickly turned sombre, as though he had decided the news was bad after all, "You might want to sit down for this, Sakura-chan."

Lee was caught in a staring match with Yuki, apparently his pride forcing him not to look away as the cat stalked towards him.

Sakura sat on the arm of the sofa, crossing her arms, gazing up at Naruto.

"Go on."

Naruto had never been a serious man, never quite shedding the eager, hyperactive nature he'd cultivated as a kid, but now, standing before her, squirming in his Hokage robes, his bright eyes were grim as they settled on Sakura's worried face.

"Itachi's surrendered to Konoha, we have him in custody." Naruto said bluntly, never one to mince words.

Sakura felt her jaw actually drop, her whole body tingling as the news washed over her, her brain struggling to catch up with the idea of Itachi's capture (surrender?).

She stared at him. Of all the things she'd expected him to say, this was not even close…

Lee knocked over a chair and flinched at the loud bang it made, colliding with the tiles. Sakura didn't even look at him.

"What does this mean for Sasuke-kun?" She asked, fingers covering her mouth in shock.

Naruto shrugged, "I dunno. Could mean he'll come back once he hears – if he hears – and he'll want to fight him or something. Trouble is, Council's insisting he's under our protection, as a prisoner. We can't just kill him or hand him to Sasuke. Hell to pay and all that."

Sakura scowled at the thought of Itachi, the whole reason Sasuke was the way he was, in Konoha, her home town, the place he'd murdered Sasuke's family, the place he'd returned to with the intention of kidnapping Naruto, where he'd tortured his little brother a second time, pushing him over the edge…

"Can't kill him, of course not…" She muttered, thinking hard, "Are you going to tell the citizens about him?"

Naruto gave a little growl of frustration, "No, my hands are tied. I've been outvoted. The Council are 'looking out for his best interests,'" He mimicked, scowling, "If I knew being Hokage would mean being outvoted on every single subject, including _litter_ and _pet care_, I'd have said stick the job!"

Sakura was still thinking, "This is a good thing. We've got him, no one got hurt, he came without a fight... It's the best case scenario in this situation, definitely. I'm just wondering, why now, why years after Akatsuki dissolved, what's changed?"

Naruto simply shrugged again.

Lee was now petting Yuki, to Sakura's disbelief, the grumpy cat purring as the jounin made cooing noises at her. Lee was forbidden from wearing spandex now, as the Hokage's bodyguard, he was forced to wear a dark blue uniform with strangely old-fashioned flashes of armour – metal at his elbows, guarding his shins, spreading over his shoulders… It meant he creaked when he walked and was restricted from doing his more outrageous stunts. Sakura privately believed the designer had had Lee's exuberance in mind when creating it.

Sakura jumped up and walked past Lee and Yuki's bonding session. She gently teased out the dead flowers from the plant, cutting the stems. "It's you, Naruto." She said quietly, as he came up behind her.

"What is?"

"You've been Hokage for what, six months? That's the change. He's come out of hiding because of you, for some reason."

She filled a glass with warm water and lightly sprinkled it in her plants' soil, careful to avoid spilling too much, not wanting to drown the poor things.

"I don't think it's me." Naruto said, shifting on the spot, looking oddly guilty as he peered around her, looking at her little forest curiously.

Sakura stiffened. She turned, putting the glass down to scowl at Naruto.

His guilty expression increased, "See, Sakura-chan, do you think I'd even be allowed to tell you any of this… if it didn't involve you?"

Her scowl hardened.

He winced, "Itachi's been here for two days… and all he'll say is, 'I want to talk to Haruno Sakura.'"

"_No._" Sakura snapped, storming past him.

One of the Anbu straightened up, clearly embarrassed, having just petted Yuki, who was content in Lee's arms.

Naruto said enthusiastically, "See! Ha, I knew you wouldn't want to talk to him! Good. I don't want him anywhere near you."

Sakura tapped the sofa arm, deep in thought.

Naruto gazed at her, reading the pained expression on her face.

"Anbu guys, can you clear off for a while? Uh… guard the… Hokage Tower…" He pointed out the door.

The Anbu squad didn't even hesitate, didn't seem to question the wisdom in Naruto's request, the leader merely said, "Right away, Hokage-sama."

They all vanished instantly, the last one hurriedly giving the cat one last stroke before disappearing along with his fellows.

Sakura puffed out her cheeks, pulling her hair up into a pony, securing it with a senbon. She was just so tired… She closed her eyes, putting her head in her hands.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, sounding concerned.

Lee's voice came from over her left shoulder, "Are you feeling well, Sakura-san?"

Yuki's meow sounded questioning, somehow.

"Do I have a choice, though?" She asked, looking up at her Hokage and best friend.

He looked appalled, "Sakura-chan, this is Uchiha Itachi! You don't just have a friendly chat with a mass-murderer!"

"How does he know who I am? Why does he want to speak to me?" Sakura said, musing, "It's not exactly something I can ignore."

"You hate him." Naruto said flatly.

"Of course," She replied sharply, "Do you think this is easy? I want him dead as much as you do. But what if he knows something about Sasuke?"

"What could he know?" Naruto said, exasperated.

"At the very least, he'll have answers about something important. Even if I don't get anywhere, it's important that I try, surely?"

"This isn't some stupid test, Sakura-chan, he's the bastard who killed Sasuke's parents!"

Sakura flinched. Lee looked at Naruto reproachfully.

"I know," She said quietly, "You're right."

There was a quiet knock at the door.

Lee sprang into action, hauling the door open to glare at the intruder like a human guard dog.

Three Anbu members barged past Lee, who let out an outraged, "Hey!" before realising who they were.

Neji pulled his bird mask to the side, his coldly perceptive eyes sweeping over Naruto and Sakura.

"Hokage-sama, it's been reported that you were wandering around the village without a guard." He said pointedly.

"I have my _bodyguard_, Lee," Naruto actually stuck his tongue out at Neji, whose mouth twitched in faint amusement, "I don't need a creepy Anbu squad. Er, no offence, you guys."

Neji rolled his eyes.

Tenten giggled, the sound hollow behind her mask, "None taken. Hey, Sakura."

Sakura waved absently, "Tenten."

The third member yawned loudly, "Ah… Can we speed this up?" Shikamaru drawled from behind his deer mask.

"Yes, that would be best…" Neji said, coming to stand in front of Sakura, who stared at him coolly, "Sakura-san, your presence has been requested by the Intelligence Division, you are required to attend, if you ignore the summons then you will be subject to –"

"Oh, and Ino said hi." Tenten interrupted Neji's increasingly more wooden speech, "She's tied up interrogating a few bandits, but when she heard we were heading to see you, she wanted to know if you were free tomorrow afternoon."

Sakura thought about it, "I shouldn't have a shift tomorrow, it's my day off. I might get called in, but I'll try to make time for her. Neji, I'm assuming this is about Uchiha Itachi, correct?"

"Correct, and as –"

"Naruto, do I have to go?" Sakura asked hopefully.

Naruto grinned, pretending to think about it, "Hmm… Nope! Neji, Sakura-chan is hereby forbidden from meeting with Uchiha Itachi. Permanently. Um, forever."

"He wants to talk about Sasuke." Neji said tonelessly.

Sakura and Naruto exchanged glances, hers cautious, his slightly hopeful.

"So he knows _something…_" Naruto breathed.

"Not necessarily," Shikamaru gave a languid shrug, "If the man really is a psychopath, it's much more likely he wants to taunt those who are closest to Sasuke, pretending to have information whilst digging the knife of his betrayal in further with taunts."

"I can see joining the Anbu's not put a dampener on your sunny personality, Shikamaru." Sakura said dryly.

Shikamaru yawned again and shook his head, "It's hanging out with Ino that does it. Always babbling about how criminals' minds work. She's getting creepy. Like a mini Anko."

"Excellent." Sakura rolled her eyes.

Naruto tapped his chin with one finger, eyes on the ceiling.

"Sakura-chan, can you speak with him please?" He worded it like a question, but Sakura knew his inner-Hokage had come out and it was more like a friendly order.

She felt the eyes of everyone in the room on her.

"If I have to." She said reluctantly.

Lee bounced on the spot, looking highly anxious, "Sakura-san, I don't think –"

"Don't worry, Lee." Neji said, his icy tones thawing into something that almost sounded comforting, "She won't be alone with him at any time and he'll have no way of hurting her."

"I'll be with her." Tenten sounded as though she was smiling, and, quick as a flash, she took a kunai out and started to toss it around, her clever fingers flinging it up and down without a slip, never coming close to dropping the weapon. It was an impressive display of technical skill, and it put Lee at ease.

Naruto was still scowling heavily, an expression Sakura never liked to see on his face.

"I'll do it." Sakura said firmly, "But I'm not a trained interrogator and I was never very good at verbal manipulation, so it's likely I won't get anything out of him."

"We just need him to cooperate at this stage," Neji said, "And for that, we have to give him what he wants."

"And what he wants is you." Shikamaru said vaguely. When he realised everyone was staring at him, he shook his head, "To talk to you," He corrected himself, "he's been very definite about his terms."

Sakura picked up her bag, struggling to get her shoes back on over her swollen, painful feet.

"Put the cat down, Lee." Neji said sternly.

Lee placed Yuki very gently on the ground and looked forlorn.

"Time to go," Tenten said, "Best not to keep His Highness waiting."

"He might massacre us all," Sakura said nastily, "I hear that's one of his bad habits."

"This will _not_ end well." Naruto said glumly.

xxxxxxxx

"Haruno Sakura, requesting permission to enter the holding cell area." Tenten said pleasantly.

The woman at the desk gave Sakura a dubious look, staring at her pink hair.

"Who?" She asked, lip curling contemptuously.

Ouch.

"Former teammate of the Rokudaime and former assistant to the Godaime," Tenten said, her tone a little sharper, "Her presence has been requested by Morino-san."

Oh, Ibiki himself… Sakura felt oddly flattered.

The woman pursed her lips and ran a finger down the papers in front of her, eyes flicking over names and times.

"Haruno Sakura," She said eventually, "Appointment to see Uchiha Itachi, as per request of prisoner. Go through that door, and don't look in any of the other cells. A few of them dislike being watched."

She pointed her pen at a grey, smudged metal door, unremarkable save for the fact that the murderer of Sasuke's family was held within the walls enclosed beyond that door.

"Please remove all weapons, sharp objects, rope, string, blunt objects, heavy objects, high heels –" The woman droned on and on until Tenten waved a hand, indicating she wanted silence. The woman shut up immediately.

Sakura felt envious. She wished she had the ability to command respect with a hand gesture. Tenten shook her head when Sakura looked at her questioningly, wondering whether or not to comply with the woman's aborted orders.

She took a deep breath, her stomach fluttering unpleasantly.

Tenten gave her an encouraging smile, and gestured to let her go first.

She opened the door, her hand shaking. Beyond was a simple, clean corridor. It was plain beyond description, no identifying features or quirks to mark it as anything unique to any other corridor. Doors to cells filled every gap of the walls on either side of the two of them, each one grey and plain, a few scratched and dented.

She and Tenten made their way through the long corridor, heading for the door at the end. Sakura remembered the woman at the desk's advice and kept her eyes firmly on the door in front, avoiding looking into any cells, not wanting to cause a crisis or revolt, which would just be typical of her, really.

She was shaking, which was pathetic _and _stupid, she'd met killers before, she'd put down Sasori himself, who hadn't exactly been averse to a bit of mass murder at all.

But this was different.

This man was the reason Sasuke was an orphan. He had slowly, methodically, eradicated his entire family, in such a cold, premeditated way, that Sakura could not summon up even a shred of reasoning that could justify what he had done. He'd had no motive whatsoever. She had pored over files, records, reports, everything to do with the Uchiha massacre, and there hadn't been a thing to indicate why the clan's most talented prodigy would do what he did.

He was both the pride of the clan and the end of it.

And he wanted to talk to her.

How did he even know her? They'd met once – except no, that was some kind of jutsu, it hadn't been Itachi at all… So really, they had never even met.

He couldn't have heard of her. Even in Konoha she was simply known as the Hokage's teammate. She hadn't exactly made a name for herself as a chuunin or a nurse. So, how did he know her?

Ugh, it was useless obsessing over it. She'd just freak herself out and refuse to go in the room.

The door at the end of the corridor opened into a large room, pictures of wanted nin from the bingo book plastered on the walls, a few crossed out in red, some doodled on by bored employees. A few people had gathered and were talking in hushed voices.

Tenten bowed deeply when Morino Ibiki walked towards them slowly, his face looking oddly thoughtful.

His eyes landed on Sakura, "Finally," He said, his voice clipped, "Perhaps now he'll cooperate."

"Have you tortured him?" Sakura asked without thinking, blushing the moment she started speaking. Torture had always been something that hadn't quite sat right with her, her morals screamed out against it, but the shinobi part of her knew, deep down, that it was necessary.

Ibiki didn't seem offended, just shook his head, "I will let you in on a little secret, Sakura-san. Torture is only effective when used correctly. Most people will scream out anything they think you want to hear in order to stop the pain. You have to target a weakness, like a family member. A quiet threat against someone they care about, and they usually spill their guts. But Uchiha Itachi has no one. His only living relative wants him dead. He killed the rest. He has undoubtedly been trained to withstand torture, given that he would have learned how in this very building, back when he worked with us. Torture would not accomplish anything, only make him less likely to talk."

Sakura was not exactly used to people talking about torture so casually, nor with such an obvious wealth of knowledge behind their words, so Ibiki's speech was both horrifying and fascinating. The diligent student inside her wanted to take notes.

"Besides," Ibiki shrugged, "He surrendered. There must be something he wants. We won't find it with blades and acid. Words and…" He eyed her with a frown, "charm. That might do it. I've been told he responds well to good manners."

She realised then that she had not bothered changing out of her nurse's uniform, a tight white dress with a black apron tied around the waist, the hem barely covering her thighs. It seemed to cheer up the patients, at least. Sakura wondered how mass murderers typically responded to women clad in tight nurse's outfits. She had a stupid white hat on, for God's sake!

Right, charm. She could be charming. Probably.

Sakura nodded, feeling the blood drain from her face when he suddenly stepped aside and indicated a door to his left, nodding at her, "That is the interrogation room we moved him to this morning. Once you speak with him, if he cooperates, he'll go back to his cell."

Sakura took another deep breath, steeling herself, and began to walk to the door.

She heard Tenten's light tread behind her and took comfort in the knowledge that she would not be alone.

A man stepped forward and unlocked the door for them, smiling at Tenten in greeting.

Sakura tried to stop herself shaking.

Tenten opened the door and gestured for Sakura to step inside, "We'll be watching through here." She said kindly, pointing at a large two-way mirror set in the wall next to the door "He's restrained, don't worry."

Oh.

Great.

She was going in alone.

Suddenly irritated at her lack of backbone, she took two steps and was inside.

There was a long wooden table with two chairs on either side. The room was dark, she could barely see anything.

A man sat, restrained by chakra strings, the glow of chakra painting his face an eerie blue.

He looked to be in his mid-twenties. The brief glimpse Sakura caught of his face in the dark told her he greatly resembled Sasuke. His eyes were closed.

Sakura felt around the wall until she found a switch.

Light flooded the room, and the man's eyes opened.

"Ah," He said, his voice deep and pleasant, "Sakura-san, I presume?"

Sakura fought a shudder and slowly sank into the chair opposite him, keenly feeling the gaze of the others through the mirror.

It took almost a full minute to work up the courage to look him in the eye.

Kakashi had told her about his jutsu, the one that he used to torture his victims for days in their mind, but only seconds in real life. She knew she was being foolish, that there was no way he would be able to use his Sharingan after being apprehended by the authorities, and yet…

Her eyes met his abruptly, a quick connection of green and black, until she looked away just as quickly, her heart racing.

This was Uchiha Itachi sitting before her, smiling politely, waiting for her to speak.

She squeezed her eyes shut, her fists clenched at her sides. A memory swept over her, a vivid, clear recollection, of a day she had spoken with Sasuke.

"_You cannot compare leaving a village to massacring your entire family," Sasuke had said sharply, his voice cold and hard, "I never wanted your love. I never encouraged any of you to get attached to me. I just wanted to get strong so I could kill him." The night had been dark and cold, his blade brushing against her throat with every word he spoke, the hand in her hair tight and painful._

She felt white-hot fury leap up within her like a snake provoked into attacking, she wanted to kill this man before her, the man who had caused Sasuke so much pain and yet could simply sit there, smiling and calling her Sakura-san like he had the right to be _breathing_ at all, let alone speaking to her!

She opened her eyes and glared at him, her eyebrows drawn together sharply to the point of pain, her mouth a hard, angry line.

He looked coolly uninterested in her sudden anger, merely tilting his head as he gazed at her, his dark eyes both sealed, kanji written in his irises.

Her bloodlust leaked out as her control slipped, and his eyebrows flickered upwards slightly in mild surprise at the palpable feel of her hatred.

He smirked suddenly, slow and wicked, and she lost control completely.

She touched the table's edge and flipped it, so quickly she did not even realise what she had done until it smashed against the wall, breaking instantly under the force of her blow.

Itachi didn't even flinch, just continued to gaze into her eyes steadily, even as splinters of wood crashed all around him. But his smirk was gone.

"That," She breathed out, her voice harsh and furious, "was for Sasuke-kun."

His lips flickered up into an unreadable smile.

The door flew open and Tenten was on her before she could blink, yanking her hands behind her back, winding chakra string around her wrists tightly.

"Tenten, I didn't mean to –" Sakura tried to say quickly, but the older girl was pulling her from the room by her hands. She had no choice but to stumble backwards, her face red with shame and embarrassment.

Itachi watched her go with a faintly amused expression.

"How interesting," He said nonchalantly, just before Tenten hauled her outside, "You aren't at all how I expected you to be."

The door slammed shut and the enigmatic prisoner disappeared from view before Sakura could spit a reply.

Ibiki loomed over her, glaring angrily.

Damn it.

* * *

First impressions always count!

Methinks Sakura didn't do too well there.

Sakura has plants and a cat and is still a chuunin, aged twenty-one. Yes, she knows she's pathetic, please don't poke fun XD

The fact that the entire Interrogation Squad voted for sending in a random, untrained chuunin to talk to Itachi shows 1) how uncooperative he was being and 2) how scary many of them find him!

Wow, I was really not expecting the massive response I got for the first chapter! Kind of scary, yet awesome XD So many reviews!

The three anbu were Shikamaru, Neji and Tenten – Itachi mistakenly believed Neji was female XD

Sakura is not a happy bunny.

Angry!Sakura: ARGH, I SMASH TABLE!

Thrifty!Ibiki: NOOOOO, THAT WAS SOLID OAK, DO YOU KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE THAT WAS?

Can't really see Sakura just sitting down and having a nice chat with Itachi right away :)

First, she must smash things. Like a rite of passage.

Secondly, since this is five years after Shippuden, Sasuke has been AWOL for almost ten years.

Wow.

You can understand Sakura's rage at seeing the cause of his absence now, hopefully XD

Lee's outfit essentially makes him look like a medieval jock, with armour pads, yay! Thought it would suit him.

And yes, Naruto specifically chose Lee to be his bodyguard, out of every ninja in Konoha. Who says you need jutsu to be a strong, splendid ninja?

An anonymous reviewer said this:

_Despite the fact that Masashi Kishimoto-san did seemed to forget about Sakura's awesomess and her epic growth, we need to remember that he was her creator people! Yes, he might make her vulnerable at times but if you notice Sakura is one of the most strongest female characters in the manga. Instead of complaining at why Kishimoto doesn't make her any more cooler or epic we should be thankful that he created such wonderful characters to portrait this one of a kind manga. I can't see anyone better who could of done such a great job. At least he chose Sakura to be Naruto's partner and to be just like she is, the person we came to admire a lot. Imagine if Kishimoto would of chosen someone else. I love how he has set up his story well. The manga is called NARUTO and not SAKURA, we need to remember that. Sasuke did change a lot but remember all the things he has gone through. He saw his own patents die by the hand of who he most admired! Imagine it from your point of view! Don't hate on him! _ Oh and in my opinion i love the manga. I can't wait to read more! Also nice story. Just pleased don't make Sakura so awesome that she suddenly turns Hokage_! _Trust me... i have seen stories like that... - shudders- But i love your story! Keep it up! As well as your other stories!_

So here's my reply :)

I understand that Sakura isn't the main character, but I'm complaining about how she never wins the fights she is in, despite previously displaying a high level of skill she no longer seems to have. I just wish she could be the strong Sakura we were promised way back when, in the chuunin exams when she told Sasuke and Naruto to watch her back for once… I hate the way she is backing away from the Sasuke conflict, saying she'll rely on Naruto to sort it out, as though it had nothing to do with her because… well, there is nothing separating Sakura's relationship with Sasuke from his with Naruto, except for her gender and the fact that she loved him. So why should she leave it all to Naruto?

I only want Sakura to be the strong, confident badass she used to be. I'm not talking about suddenly whipping forbidden jutsus out of her arse and beating Madara to death with her little finger, I mean I want her to stop crying and start actually doing things for herself again, like _standing up for herself_ and having a role in resolving the Sasuke conflict!

Ah, man, I feel really sorry for Sasuke and everything that happened to him, but he went through all that trauma and still cared about Team 7/Taka, I only hate the weird new bastard-Sasuke who merrily stabs his friends. I'm guessing he's brainwashed or something…

Thanks for your review, and don't worry, Sakura will definitely not suddenly get Kage-level strong XD

Wow, loooooooooong chapter. Sorry :S Should be a few surprises in the next one!

**Quick poll for fun: **If you could bring any Naruto character back from the dead permanently, who would it be? (This poll will naturally have spoilers)

A) Asuma

B) Minato

C) Itachi

D) Other! Let me know!


	3. Losing Tempers, Kindness Catalyst

Tenten pushed her mask away from her face, revealing her face – the straight, vaguely pretty features, the big brown eyes and the exasperated expression. She scratched her head, gazing at Sakura. The light from overhead shone briefly upon her arm, the fading scars that every shinobi found themselves with after a few hard missions glowing faintly under the cheap electric light.

Ibiki's scars were much more prominent, and under the harsh light, more sinister-looking than a few average scrapes. He stuck his hands in his pockets and glared down at her, "Sakura-san," He said, his voice a rough growl, "You better have a damn good reason for attacking the prisoner."

Sakura threw up her hands, horrified and annoyed at herself for getting into this situation, "I didn't attack him, sir, I lost my temper but I never intended to harm him. With all due respect, it is a delicate situation – I personally do not believe I should be involved in interrogating him, but it is his own request," She threw in a helpless shrug for good measure, "But I think if I speak with him and find out what he wants, it might be an important breakthrough in his case."

Ibiki had listened to her, his mouth twisting wryly at her attempts to wheedle her way out of trouble, then shook his head, "Sending a rookie in to talk to a psycho like Uchiha doesn't sit well with me. You just proved you can't control your emotions around him. He managed to fool everyone in the village that he was someone he wasn't – to do that, he needed to be excellent at manipulating people and lying to their faces. He'll push you again if I send you back in, and this time the thing that gets broken might not be just a table. What do you think, soldier?"

Tenten had once told Sakura that Ibiki saw all of the Anbu as faceless drones, and thus referred to them all as 'soldier,' regardless of rank or gender. Tenten didn't mind. She wasn't the type to take things personally.

There was a flicker of movement as Tenten's hand automatically rose in a sort-of half salute upon being addressed by a superior, before she cancelled the movement with a look of embarrassment. Having wanted to be in the Anbu for so long, she found it difficult to shake her slavish devotion to the people in charge, seeing as she'd spent most of her life admiring people like them – the day Tsunade had become Hokage, Tenten had apparently cried and trained with Gai and Lee for six hours straight, determined to improve her skills before having to showcase them to the new Hokage.

Sakura couldn't summon that same enthusiasm that seized most of her fellows, the desire to improve, be the best… Her concern was more for being left behind once more, being forced to watch everyone else's backs as they moved on, leaving her behind.

Out of all of the Rookie Nine, Sakura was one of the two who remained chuunin – the other was Chouji, and even he had been reported to be doing very well for himself lately.

She imagined herself standing at a window sometimes, on a cold day, alone, watching everyone leave together, without her, left to stand and watch…

Tenten thought about it for a while, looking pensive, before speaking up, "I believe that, after the initial shock of seeing him, Sakura can manage to contain herself, should I accompany her this time, as I requested originally, sir."

Ibiki tipped his head back and breathed in deeply, "He asked for it to be just Sakura alone," He grumbled, "I figured as long as he talked, fine. But hell if I'm gonna be ordered around by a murderer anyway. You," He called out to a bespectacled woman passing by, who stumbled into a wall in surprise, "Get me a table."

The woman blinked owlishly, then scurried off to comply.

Ibiki moved to stand in front of the window, watching Itachi closely. Sakura came to stand next to him. Itachi sat in his chair, chakra strings still glowing and holding him there, looking serenely composed.

"He's been on the run for years," Ibiki muttered, sharp eyes on the murderer beyond the sheet of glass, "Why come back now? Why surrender at all? There was practically no chance of us ever catching him, by this point we'd stopped sending people, figuring he was a lost cause and just praying for sightings. What's changed?"

Sakura stared at the man sitting so casually in the very heart of the village he had betrayed, and tried to remove her hatred and anger. He was just another prisoner… just another prisoner…

"It must be something to do with Sakura," Tenten said promptly, "Why else would he want to talk to her?"

Ibiki nodded slightly, still gazing intently at Itachi, "Either way, we won't find out anything until she gets back in there and actually questions him this time."

Sakura flushed.

The woman came back, dragging the table behind her, panting. Tenten kindly took it from her. The woman bowed deeply and rushed off again.

"Place it in front of him and don't speak to him." Ibiki instructed.

Tenten nodded smartly and unlocked the door again, dragging the table through.

Sakura watched as Itachi immediately looked up as Tenten and then, seeing who it was, looked back down again after saying something.

Tenten came back, unruffled by her exposure to the mass-murderer. Sakura felt a stab of envy. How could she be so cool and collected all the time? Sakura was plagued by her emotions, no amount of training had gifted her with constant composure or the ability to block out what she felt. Her temper was hot, she carried grudges like she breathed and she fell for any guy with a pretty face.

"What did he say?" Ibiki demanded.

"May I speak with Haruno Sakura?" Tenten quoted, her smile dry, "I don't know why I expected anything different."

Sakura moved closer to the glass, not sure what she was looking for.

Itachi was slumped in his chair, his head down, chin resting on his chest. The blue glow of the chakra strings cast a corpse-like hue on his pale skin. He looked unholy, sitting there so innocently despite what he had done.

She smiled wryly to herself. She had shouted at Orochimaru aged twelve for hurting Sasuke. She had cockily informed Sasori she would capture him no matter what, to find information on Sasuke. Now, she had her chance to let Sasuke's older brother know exactly what she thought of him, and she was quaking in her sandals.

Coward.

She clenched her fists, allowing the pleasant thrum of anger to vibrate through her for one glorious second, then focused.

Right.

"I'm ready to go back in," She said, determined, "And this time I'll get something out of him. Anything about Sasuke – I'll make him talk."

"With words, not fists." Ibiki said, deadpan, then ushered her to the door.

The door opened once again and Itachi's head lifted slightly, then completely when he took in the sight of Sakura.

She very deliberately walked to her chair, pulled it in a bit, the legs scraping against the tiled floor, and looked at the ceiling as though it was the most interesting thing she had seen in her life.

Tenten followed her in, flicking shuriken along her knuckles casually, backing away to stand in the corner, her dark eyes focused on the restrained murderer.

Itachi coughed politely.

"Um," Sakura began, her voice coming out timid and weak-sounding, "Since you're the one who wanted this conversation, why don't you start?" She suggested, wincing at the lecturing teacher-type voice that automatically came out.

Itachi's mouth twitched in amusement, "And if I don't want to start? Will you break the table again?"

"Well, then I'll start," Sakura said, mouth dry, "Why did you want to talk to me?"

Itachi tutted, "You shouldn't have given in – you instigated a power play, who will be the first to speak, who will offer information, and so on – and you handed over the power the moment you folded. Very poor play. Am I right to assume you aren't an expert in this field?"

Don't get mad, don't get mad…

"No, I'm a nurse." She gritted out, eyes on her feet, knowing if she looked at his maddening, painfully familiar face she'd punch him or freak out.

"A nurse?" Itachi said slowly, sounding contemplative, "I was led to believe you were a kunoichi."

Led by whom, Sakura wondered silently, and why did it matter?

"Nurse is my job title, medic is my type, I guess." She said quickly, her words coming out sloppily and rushed, tumbling over each other. Just sitting across a table from Uchiha Itachi, having a semi-normal conversation with him, was enough to make her desperate for a shower.

Itachi's eyes ran over her form, his gaze assessing. Sakura felt slightly naked under his gaze and so, to beat the irritating urge to run away, she raised her own eyes to meet his.

His eyes were curious, dark and almost feminine. The seal in his pupils flashed as their eyes met. Sakura fought the urge to rear back.

"Go on," He nodded at her, "So, you're a medical specialist."

"Yeah. I guess it's kind of obvious." She laughed nervously, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"I suppose so," Itachi smiled, "I can smell disinfectant clinging to your clothes and your skin. You have traces of blood on your palms but since you washed your hands with bacterial soap, it is very faint. The only weapon you have on your person is the senbon you are misusing in order to hold up your hair. All of this tells me that you are a medical ninja, but you do not fight very often. The fact that you have no reputation in the shinobi world, not a single whisper of your talents or achievements, is very telling on its own. Have you given up being a shinobi? Your introduction as a nurse would imply the answer is yes, but…" He tilted his head, scanning her expression, "Somehow, I don't believe so."

Tenten was flicking shuriken into the air and snatching them back without glancing at them once, her cold stare still on Itachi, silently warning him.

Sakura was gripping the table. He's just another prisoner, just your average perceptive, cold mass-murdering prisoner…

"So, what happened? Why be a nurse when you can smash tables with one flip of a wrist? I understand, the shinobi lifestyle comes with pressures and difficulties… Not everyone can withstand it, some do drift into… ahem… safer territories. But what interests me is your teammates." Itachi leaned forward as far as he could, the chakra strings straining.

"Don't." Sakura warned him, but he was already talking.

"The Hokage and –"

"I said don't." She closed her eyes, breathing in and out. Just another prisoner. Just another –

"That's fine, that's fine… I assume talking about him is off-limits? You must have been close. At any rate, being known as the… well, the unknown teammate of the Hokage himself. That must be tough," His gaze was intent, "Are you truly content with just being an unknown? To still be a chuunin at your age is –"

"I believe the purpose of this meeting was for Sakura to question you, Uchiha-san." Tenten said in clipped tones, her shuriken whirring in the air as her hand threw them higher and higher, catching them every time, "I would hate to have to report that you had been uncooperative once more."

Itachi looked up at Tenten through his eyelashes, smirking, "Have I been uncooperative? Sakura-san and I have been having a mutual conversation, or so I thought."

Sakura wanted to kick herself. Very clever, she seethed inwardly, let the murderer turn his interrogation into a chat about your life choices.

"OK, Uchiha-san," Sakura said, kneading her temples with her fingertips, hoping to regain control of the conversation, "Why –"

"Please, call me Itachi," He said charmingly, "I insist."

She stared at him for half a second.

"No." She refused bluntly, "Let's keep a fraction of professionalism in this relationship."

As soon as she said it, she wished she could take the words and stuff them back into her mouth.

His eyebrows shot up in delight, "Relationship, Sakura-san? Already?"

Tenten turned a chuckle into an unconvincing cough, looking disgusted with herself.

Luckily, if there was something Sakura had experience with, it was rejecting attention, shooting down flirtation and punching out would-be suitors or perverts.

"The kind that hopefully develops between a prisoner and his confidante." Sakura said smoothly. Oh it was so easy, she extinguished any hope he might have had for a bit of unsettling, one-sided flirtatious conversation with one, clipped sentence. She'd done it before. Yes, we are great friends, aren't we? Oh, as co-workers, I think we make a great team! I admire you greatly, as you are an intelligent senpai!

Every time a man approached her with that familiar glint in his eye, that same awkward shuffle, beginning that tired old routine of, "Hey, Sakura-chan, I was just thinking –"

Yes, it got very easy, diffusing any interest, feigned or real, a man had in her, after she'd gotten a lot of practice in.

She knew by the time they'd get back to her flat, see it in its cold, bachelorette splendour, trip over a hissing Yuki, stare at the tiny forest she had grown in her kitchen, the interest would be dead and buried anyway, so why prolong the agony?

She knew in this case, at least, that the Uchiha bastard was simply taking advantage of her verbal slip up for his own amusement, but she still felt a flicker of triumph as his smirk died down.

There were some advantages to living like a spinster.

"Now, putting me aside for now, why did you surrender?" Sakura asked him straight out, watching carefully for his reaction. His reaction was to smile faintly and lean back in his chair.

"Surrender is an over-exaggeration of my actions," Itachi shrugged as much as his chakra bonds would allow, "I was simply returning home."

"Konoha has not been your home for a very long time, Uchiha-san," Sakura said coolly, "And you are hardly an honoured guest. You are to be convicted of your crimes and the only way you can make things better for yourself is to answer our questions honestly. Can you do that?"

"That depends on the questions asked," Itachi drawled, "I'll judge whether the questions are suitable."

"Fine –" Sakura began irritably.

"You really ought not to –" Itachi started to say with a smile.

"I don't _really_ care. Why did you surrender?"

Itachi flicked a glance at Tenten, who flipped a shuriken and caught it smoothly, all without breaking her glare.

"Come on, you can do better than that, surely? Why don't you ask me about my childhood? Then you can begin to pinpoint where my psychological troubles really began, and forge a motive through my apparent hatred of my father? Come on, Sakura-san, delve a little deeper, because your interrogation technique is mediocre at best. At least the imbeciles who came before you had some subtlety."

Sakura took her 'he's just another prisoner' mantra and shoved it out of her mind. This was personal, he was making it personal and she would take it further without regret.

"OK, fine. You were the genius prodigy of the famed Uchiha clan, your family's greatest pride and hope. At thirteen years old, your father consulted you on tactical issues and no one, not even your mother, treated you like a child. Your little brother was forever in your shadow. You resented the clan. Reports say that few could understand you; even fewer were close to you. Is it any wonder you slew them all? The pride of a talented clan like that, everyone pressuring you to be the genius above them all, singing your praises constantly, always on the watch for the smallest of failures? You killed them all to prove them right, because you were raised to believe you were stronger than your family and that pressure finally got to you. Am I close, or was my technique not subtle enough for you?"

The man stared at her, his eyebrows raised a fraction, his mouth a hard line.

She got the feeling that he'd finally stopped laughing at her.

"…Not terribly subtle, no," He said eventually, "What you said was speculation lifted from the psychologist reports of from the mental evaluation they took the liberty of writing after I left the village and the Anbu's confidential reports. I wonder how you gained access to those?"

Tenten's eyes were on her back.

My best friend is the Rokudaime, Sakura wanted to say, my former master is Tsunade, the Godaime. How do you think I got access? I asked nicely.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sakura said, innocently wide-eyed, "This was what I gathered from talking to some co-workers. I'd be interested to know what makes you think any of it was similar to confidential reports about yourself."

Stalemate.

He smirked, looking caught out, "It was an educated guess. A nurse like yourself, a mere chuunin… normally I would believe your story. However, your personal connections led me to believe you had used somewhat unsavoury methods."

Sakura breathed in and out, calm. It was growing easier to pretend he was just some criminal she'd been drafted in to question, she was getting better at separating her emotions. She'd studied practically every aspect of being a shinobi – emotional impact, psychological… she knew the trauma it could induce. Like a haemorrhaging wound, the pressure of the lifestyle flooded into the shinobi's mind, poisoning them from within. With the added pressure of being the Uchiha's golden boy, she could easily see how Itachi had snapped.

She sighed, resting her chin on her fist. It was rarely so simple, though.

"I was told to come here and question you by my superiors, but there is no real rule to keep me here." Sakura said, eyes closed. She heard Tenten's concerned, 'Hm…' and Itachi's quiet murmur of interest.

She opened her eyes, fierce and green, and fearlessly met his, watching them widen slightly under her glare, "I'm here because I was told you wanted to talk about Sasuke-kun. So go ahead. Tell me everything you know and _do not lie to me_."

Incredibly, her anger seemed to please him. His smirked widened, his eyes sparking with interest, "My little brother? You seem eager. I don't know anything about his whereabouts. Do you not think I would have sought him out, had I known where he was?"

Sakura felt her anger boil over, "Oh, so you could tie up that loose end?"

He gave her a pitying look, "Try to go beyond the surface of the issue, Sakura-san. Don't merely assume things about me. I would rather drive a kunai into my stomach than harm Sasuke."

"No one's stopping you!" Sakura said harshly.

"It would be useful if you did not kill yourself at this point, Uchiha-san." Tenten said mildly.

"Duly noted," Itachi smiled, "But I truly know nothing of Sasuke. I brought you here under semi-false pretences, I fear… I wanted to know something."

"What?" Sakura's voice was violently at this point, she had abandoned her pseudo-teacher attitude and wanted to reach over and throttle him until he turned blue.

"Why, about you," His eyes crinkled up as his smile brightened, "I wanted to know about _you_. What I have gathered is this: you work hard in a job you are over-qualified for. The bags under your eyes and your creased, unwashed uniform tell me this. You have gone years without even a nod of acknowledgement, let alone a promotion, so you have no desire to put yourself out there and risk rejection. Your skills versus your shinobi rank tell me this. But, most importantly of all, you care deeply for my beloved little brother. That is all I needed to know."

His voice sounded like some higher-up ending a conversation, there was a note of formality and dismissal in his tone.

"You don't know a thing about me. So that's it? You wanted to see what I was like? Why? Why did you tell everyone you wanted to talk about Sasuke if you just wanted to mock me?"

"Mock you…" He sighed, "I've never met such a touchy chuunin. I'm not mocking you, Sakura-san. I wanted to see what you were like, because I have been reliably informed that you are a worthless, talentless young woman, and I wanted to see whether you would prove them right or wrong."

Sakura stared at him, flinching at his words. Tenten made a warning sound, the soft hiss of her spinning blades increasing.

"I don't know yet." Itachi's gaze was searing.

What the hell was his problem? Sakura bit her lip and really _looked_ at him, taking in his gaunt, pale features, the redness of his skin where the strings cut in, the shadow of stubble decorating his jaw.

"Noticing your village's handiwork?" Itachi smiled, "I see the place has gone to the dogs since I left."

"Fuck." Sakura shoved her chair back and crashed through the door, swearing all the way.

Tenten stayed in her corner, hard eyes burning through Itachi's confused face.

"Anbu-san?" Itachi said quietly, "Is the Anbu still like it was when I was part of it?"

Tenten smiled, "No, Uchiha-san. We have a stricter policy on letting murdering assholes in."

He laughed.

xxxxxxxx

Ibiki patted her on the back, "All things considered," He said kindly, "You did very well."

"Have you been feeding him?" Sakura snarled, startling him.

He frowned, "No, he's been given water –"

"That isn't right!" She said angrily, "I hate him so much I want to tear his stupid, smug face off, but withholding his basic rights makes us just as bad as him! I want to prove to that bastard that we're more than he gives us credit for!"

"It's you he insulted, not Konoha as a whole." Ibiki pointed out dryly.

"I don't care! Do you have food in this hole?" Sakura was still seething. Sure, the bastard had insulted her and made her feel small, but the thought of him looking down on Konoha… Even the thought of her village starving their prisoners bothered her more than his stupid comments.

"No," Ibiki said, deadpan, "We live off fear and blood. Of course we have food, that room there."

"OK, I swear I'm not going to poison him." Sakura said sincerely, ignoring his disbelieving tut.

She grabbed a plate of sandwiches and stormed back into the room, where Tenten was talking quietly. They both looked startled when she stormed in, bearing chicken sandwiches.

"Look, I get that you are some psychopathic, murdering bastard, and I understand that you think I'm worthless or whatever, but Konoha is the best shinobi village there is, so don't you look down on us from your bloody high horse, Uchiha Itachi!" She snapped, tossing the plate down onto the table without a care.

Itachi looked at the plate, his expression blank, "Hm… You talk big, but I can see they are just words… You aren't giving me this food because I insulted your village. You're giving me this because you think I look thin, and you have a pathological need to be kind, even to psychopathic, murdering bastards like myself," He tilted his head again, his eyes assessing, "I have my answer. He was wrong. You are a good person. And that's all I need to know."

Sakura's face contorted as she fought the urge to scream in his face, _stop mocking me!_

"Ha, Sakura-san?" He said slowly, his gaze beguiling, "I don't think I can eat this alone. Would you feed me?"

Don't smash the plate in his face, Sakura told herself firmly, he would probably like it anyway.

"Tenten," Sakura delegated, "Uchiha-san is hungry."

Tenten gave her an unimpressed look, "This is not part of my job description. Very well, open your mouth and do not attempt to bite me, or I will stick this through your eye." She said nicely, waving her shuriken.

Itachi might have been feigning his little flirty, annoying side, but Sakura swore he looked slightly… disappointed as Tenten started to cut up his sandwich messily with her shuriken.

Clearly desperate to get the last word, Itachi called out, "By the way, I love the outfit."

Sakura pulled down her dress as far as it would go, cursing the hospital's sartorial regulations, her face flaming red as she hurriedly left the room.

* * *

Blaaaargh, I'm too tired for my regular big ass author's note.

-Insert witty remark here –

Maybe I'll edit this later, when I'm feeling more awake.

Methinks Sakura does not have a future career as an interrogator ahead of her.

I forgot to tell you guys, but I passed my whole first year at University! *happy dance*

Couldn't believe it!

No, anonymous reviewer, you did not offend me :) No worries.

Brb, I'm gonna go sleep for a few years.

**Quick poll for fun: **Would any of you ever read anything I published in real life? – merely curious –

I may ask this in my profile poll too.

OK, goodnight, my lovelies :) Xxxxxxxxx


	4. Sly Snakes, Confined Power

Tsunade had left him some stern advice before she'd gone off to go drinking with Shizune and some others.

"I know you want Itachi dead and buried," She'd said bluntly, "But it's not every day an ex-member of Akatsuki pops up at our doorstep and surrenders. I want to know what he was doing in the years he slipped under our radar, I want to know which village he was hiding in, who his allies were, who he was working for – we can't just execute him and be done with it. We certainly can't tie him to the gate and wave him around until Sasuke takes the bait. You need to ignore what your emotions are telling you and listen to your brain for once; I know it must grow tired of not being used. Don't do anything rash. The Council are looking for excuses to make you look incompetent, so don't prove them right."

Naruto sat at his desk, reading the sixteenth letter he'd received that day. His eyes had blurred by this point and there was a steady headache pounding in his temples. Ten messenger hawks had delivered a few casual letters of greetings and well wishing. Six shinobi messengers had been shown to his door throughout the day, official-looking scrolls in hand.

These six letters were what he dreaded every day.

There was always something wrong. Some complaint, some problem, somewhere. As the Kage of the most influential, economically sound village with more political power than any man or woman in the near regions, he was expected to answer every issue with a well-thought out solution. Having to be right all the time was exhausting.

The one he was reading was from Nishimura Daiki, the lord of Arashi. Nishimura always sent requests for aid, his village was constantly under threat of harsh weather, given that they had chosen to build a village _in a spot known for storms._ Naruto had tried to write back the first time advising him to move the village somewhere less stupid, but Tsunade had intercepted the letter and hit him over the head with it. He'd been forced to be more diplomatic and less truthful in his response.

Six months he'd been Hokage… six months of being on trial, people treating him like a ticking bomb waiting to blow up in their faces, the Council making sly remarks about his tardiness to meetings… If he didn't have baa-chan monitoring his every move, he'd have made a thousand mistakes already.

The pressure was a little intense.

He pushed aside Nishimura's letter and examined a report again. It was just something Sakura had signed to explain why she hadn't accepted any missions for three months. Stress was the reason she'd put down. Naruto didn't doubt that she was stressed, what with everything that had happened and her nursing job taking over her life, but he knew that stress would never normally keep her away from completing missions.

Tsunade had personally sat down with him and checked over the mission reports Sakura had filed in the past few years, the little frown between her brows deepening as the evidence stacked up.

Sakura had steadily stopped taking on missions as the rest of Rookie Nine had started getting promotions. Ino now specialised in interrogation (and had become way less social as a result and a bit creepier). Sai was now so deep in espionage that Naruto never even knew where he was or what he was up to. He, Yamato and Kakashi were tight. On the rare occasions Naruto was allowed out of his office or meetings, he usually saw the three of them out drinking together.

Kakashi had pretty much stopped being a jounin sensei the day Sasuke had left. When Naruto had asked why, he'd just said simply, "I was fulfilling an obligation, teaching you. For your old man. I'm not a teacher, not really. I'm done." Now, proving he was a total hypocrite, he was an Anbu instructor, in charge of training up the next generation. His main students were Neji, Shikamaru and Tenten.

He'd fixed them all up with jobs while he trained them. Neji was a straight out soldier, Tenten was in charge of making sure the village's supply of weapons were in good condition and up to date, Shikamaru was in Intelligence. The Strategy Division often tussled with Kakashi over borrowing Shikamaru and Neji, and the Torture section had practically begged him to release Tenten into their care the moment her training was complete. She knew more about weapons and their many uses than any other ninja in the village.

Upon finishing their training, he'd advised Neji to become a hunter nin, as his Byakugan would prove invaluable when hunting down criminals. Neji had taken his advice and had progressed all the way to leading his own squad. Hiashi's expression on the day of Neji's promotion had been a beautiful thing to behold – on one hand, he was clearly immensely proud of his nephew, and on the other, his own daughter had rejected an invitation to become a member, clearly pissing him off majorly. Naruto had been the one to extend the invitation and had been surprised when she had said no.

Tenten now worked under Ibiki's command and frequently was allowed to lead torture sessions, something Naruto felt a little uncomfortable with, especially given how calm and…. well, _normal_ Tenten seemed to be.

Shikamaru, to his annoyance, was in a very senior position for someone of his age, considering his lack of motivation. He was the overseer of missions, he picked who went on which mission and wrote up the mission objectives and figured out which route they would take… As far as Naruto could see, Shikamaru was now The Man Behind Everything in Konoha. It was hilarious, seeing how reluctant he was to be so powerful.

Kakashi had admitted why, out of all of the Anbu recruits, he had chosen Tenten, Shikamaru and Neji. Maito Gai was an old friend and, as weird as he was, had still been a big support to him over the years, so he'd purposefully taken Tenten and Neji under his wing. As for Shikamaru, Kakashi had outright stated that he had respected and trusted Asuma, and felt like he owed it to him to train up his ex-student. It didn't hurt that all three of them were geniuses in their own right.

There was a timid knock at his door.

"Hokage-sama?" Hinata's timid voice floated through the wood, "I've brought you some ramen."

"Come in!" Naruto said delightedly.

The door clicked open and Hinata emerged, a cup of noodles in hand, chopsticks and various sauces in the other. She gave Naruto a shy, pleased smile, and walked in without blushing once. Progress.

Hinata placed the cup on the desk. The kimono she wore was similar to Shizune's old outfit, except where Shizune's had been black and loose-fitted, Hinata's was a deep purple colour and had been expertly tailored to fit her perfectly. The day Naruto had named her his assistant, the Hyuuga's personal tailors had started work on her outfit, making it from fine, expensive silk.

Naruto had wanted her to work with Neji as a hunter nin, thinking the two of them would work well together. Making her his assistant had been a last minute change, a fumbling move designed to give her a job that would both suit and please her.

Tsunade had advised him that the key to being a successful Hokage was surrounding yourself with trustworthy people. Naruto remembered Hinata leaping into the fray to save him from Pain, even as others merely sat back and watched.

Naruto gave Hinata a dazzling grin and snapped his chopsticks in two, "Thank you, Hinata-chan! Just what I needed!"

She flushed brightly and smiled back.

"_But you... You helped me find my way and take the correct path, Naruto... I always chased after you...wanting to catch up...wanting to walk together with you forever... I want to be at your side, always... You changed me, Naruto! Your smiling face saved me! And that's way I'm not afraid to die, defending you! Because... I love you."_

Naruto gazed at her as those familiar words spun around inside his head. The same words that he'd thought about constantly whenever she was near. No one had loved him before Hinata. Maybe Iruka… At any rate, having been a lonely kid, he had desperately craved affection and love. It had been hard to resist simply entering a relationship with Hinata, just so he could feel cared for in that way… But the only girl he'd ever really had eyes for was his best friend, and her own affections lay elsewhere. It wouldn't be fair to Hinata.

He had no doubt she had only confessed her love because she believed she would die soon after. Naruto had thought he'd been the number one expert in reckless, life-risking stunts, so seeing shy, blushing Hinata do her best to defend him, almost at the cost of her life… well, he'd been forced to change his mind about her.

Lee stood at his shoulder, arms folded behind his back, eyes flicking between the door and window at regular intervals. Naruto enjoyed having Fuzzy-Brows constantly around, he made things interesting.

Hinata was beautiful, kind and she loved him more than anyone else did. He could tell that much just from looking at her. She wore her heart on her sleeve, after all.

She noticed his scrutiny and bowed quickly, excusing herself with her trademark impeccable manners.

At any rate, Sakura had stopped taking on missions when the rest of Rookie Nine had progressed past her mission grade. Naruto hadn't missed that little fact, and neither had Tsunade.

Hinata had barely closed the door behind her when it burst open again and a chuunin shoved past her abruptly, making her squeak in surprise.

The chuunin bowed hastily before Naruto as he stood up and opened his mouth to speak.

Naruto held up a hand, face clearly showing his irritation.

"Hinata-chan?" He called after the girl, who had already started to leave again. She came back hesitantly, probably worried she was in trouble.

"Hokage-sama," The chuunin said hurriedly.

"Say sorry to Hinata-chan." Naruto said firmly in his best stern voice, crossing his arms.

The chuunin glanced back at Hinata incredulously, "Um, my apologies, Hyuuga-san."

Hinata offered a deep bow, blushing at the Hokage himself coming to her defence over a small slight, "Thank you very much. I was not offended in the least, sir."

The chuunin nodded awkwardly, "Er, good. Hokage-sama, three fugitives have surrendered themselves into our custody, on the condition that they speak with you personally."

Naruto looked unimpressed.

"You kidding me?" He asked flatly.

Was he about to get stuck with some criminals, like poor Sakura? She'd been lumbered with Uchiha Itachi – to his total disapproval – and was being forced to talk to him more and more, especially as he proved to be a master at saying things that _could_considered useful if he elaborated… which he _never_ did.

"No sir. Should we bring them in?"

Naruto pulled a face and nodded. Great. Were all the criminals in the world having a party in Konoha's cells? That was the only reason Naruto could think why they'd all suddenly start surrendering to them…

Hinata bowed again, completely unnecessarily, and backed out of the door with noticeable care. She'd always treated him well, but since he'd become Hokage, she acted like blinking in his presence was an offence or something. He kind of missed having his old friends being able to just chat with him. Still, it was great fun being able to order Kiba to go buy him ramen.

Three familiar-looking shinobi were ushered through the door, surrounded by Anbu.

Naruto wrinkled his nose in confusion as he tried to place their faces.

The only girl among them was a redhead with glasses. She had one hand on her hip and was looking around his office speculatively.

The smallest guy had white hair and sharp teeth. Naruto was unnerved at the resemblance he had with Kisame, the man who had bared unnatural shark teeth at him and threatened to chop off his legs with a smile. He was glaring at an Anbu who was holding a massive sword, clearly not his own weapon.

The third was tall and strongly built. He had spiky orange hair and a calm expression, though there was something discomforting about his eyes.

The three of them stared at Naruto, clearly waiting for him to say something.

"Uh…" Naruto frowned and swiftly fell silent. One of the Anbu coughed, the sound echoing in his mask., "Am I supposed to know you guys?"

The girl looked livid, while the sharp-toothed one seemed incredulous.

"You bastard!" The redhead burst out angrily. One of the Anbu casually smacked her across the head lightly, just a warning blow.

"You will speak to the Hokage with respect." The Anbu said, shocking Naruto with her high, feminine voice. He'd been certain she was a dude! It was so hard to tell with those guys. Girls. Whatever.

Lee shifted on the spot, clearly dying to overreact to some slight so he could start breaking heads.

The girl scowled, rubbing her head.

The sharp-toothed guy's jaw worked furiously. "Do you really not know us? Can't believe you're Sasuke's old teammate…" He shook his head, "Fucking bizarre."

Naruto sat down heavily in his chair, hands shooting out to grip the arms, feeling faint from the sudden realisation.

He bent his head for a moment, breathing in and out, his chakra fluctuating with every forcibly calm breath. The Kyuubi murmured something dark and inaudible.

"Naruto-kun?" Lee whispered, kneeling at his side, his concern overruling his strong sense of propriety, "Are you feeling unwell?"

Naruto looked up, blue eyes narrowed. The redhead was looking at him oddly.

He stood. Lee hastily climbed to his feet with him.

"Team Hebi." Naruto growled, remembering the descriptions of the team Sasuke had gone to the trouble of forming. His own little evil club. Naruto glared at the girl in particular, wondering if she'd been a good replacement for Sakura. Somehow, he doubted it.

"At your service." The lithe one with the teeth said, grinning, "I'm Suigetsu. That little sweetheart over there's Karin and the big one's Juugo."

"We need your help." Juugo said quietly, his eyes looking more sad than disconcerting now.

"Get lost." Naruto clicked his fingers. The Anbu immediately seized Team Hebi's shoulders, and Naruto experienced the odd sensation of having people listen to him.

"It's about Sasuke-kun!" Karin burst out, struggling against her captors, hair falling in her face as she bucked furiously, "We don't know where he is!"

"So he abandoned you too, did he?" Naruto grinned savagely, "Didn't take him long."

"We don't know why he left," Suigetsu said, suddenly looking very serious, "He'd been talking more lately, talking about his brother and everything that happened. He always got angry if we asked him anything, but sometimes he'd just come out with stuff. The night before he left, he just muttered something about not wanting to let him win. And then, we went to a village for supplies and he vanished. Didn't leave tracks or anything. We've not been able to find him since."

Juugo was the only one not struggling against the Anbu, his expression close to desperate, "Please help us find Sasuke. I don't like what I become without his influence."

"Don't you think I've been looking? I've been looking ever since he left! I can't find him!" Naruto yelled, his voice cracking on the last word.

Disappointed wasn't the word.

Crushed was more like it.

Team Hebi showing up in his office, sans Sasuke, had featured frequently in his daydreams. But he'd always imagined they'd know where he was and would be happy to take Naruto to him. In his mind, finding Sasuke was inevitable. He just wanted it to happen faster.

"We heard you were Hokage now, thought maybe you'd be interested in helping us out if we told you what we knew." Suigetsu said, his tone sly.

"What do you know?" Naruto demanded.

"Sasuke's in the Land of Spring." Suigetsu shrugged, "That's what we've heard. Built himself a reputation as a killer. We didn't think it sounded like him, but everyone we've talked to swears it is."

"You said you didn't know where he was!"

"Nah, we know the general area but… Sasuke's gotten hard to locate these days. If he doesn't want you to find him, you won't."

"And you think I can find him?"

"Hokage much? You've got all these guys behind you, do you really think you couldn't find Sasuke?"

Naruto stared at Team Hebi. They'd put their necks on the line for Sasuke. There was nothing they would get out of this except the chance to see Sasuke again. And, if he really was a killer, then there was no way they'd survive that particular reunion.

He sighed, a million ideas, thoughts and plans running through his head, each one rejected as being too wild, too stupid, too reckless, too _Naruto._ What was he supposed to do? Get baa-chan in to hold his hand every time a tough decision like this came up?

But there had never been, and almost definitely would never be again, a decision tougher than this. Uchiha Sasuke was his comrade, his best friend. His brother. Naruto's stomach churned with nausea, clenching at the thought of something going wrong. But what if it went right, and Sasuke came home? He hadn't seen him in years. He would be different, cold at best, unfeeling at worst.

If there was any chance Sasuke could come home, it was going to happen. Naruto would make sure of it.

It only took a second before he was halfway out of his chair, dawning realisation already spreading over his face. He sat back down. And there was no way the Hokage himself would be allowed to go after his traitor ex-teammate, especially not with Sasuke's new murderous reputation. He would stay in his chair in the safety of his office, his Anbu squad constantly watching over him, Lee ready to jump on anyone who looked at him wrong, while he sent some team off to do the job that was by rights his and his alone.

There were only two other people who'd earned the right to retrieve Sasuke, and they sure as hell weren't part of Team Hebi.

Naruto clicked his fingers again, beginning to shift through his letters once more, already sinking back into Daiki's plaintive pleas.

"Hey!" Suigetsu cried out as he was dragged through the door, "Don't you want Sasuke back?"

"Yeah." Naruto said flatly, gesturing for the Anbu squad to stop, "But you won't be given that privilege. You three helped him hide from us. You're prisoners, not adventurers on a quest. You'll stay in your cells, cooperate with us completely, answer all of our questions truthfully and then maybe you'll see Sasuke."

"We're the only people who can find him!" Karin said angrily, "Just give us transport and some back up and we'll find him, I can sense his chakra really easily –"

"Hatake Kakashi," Naruto said bluntly, "Haruno Sakura. Rock Lee. Maybe a few others. People I trust enough to go get my brother back for me. You don't qualify. Now get them out of my sight."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." The squad leader saluted, then vanished with Team Hebi still protesting loudly, leaving wisps of smoke behind.

"Hokage-sama," Lee breathed out, sounding touched, "You would entrust me with this mission?"

Poor guy. No one ever gave him a break.

"I entrust you with my life every day," Naruto pointed out.

"Who'll guard you in my absence?" Lee demanded, "I cannot rest without knowing you are fully protected from all danger that may –"

"I'll get someone good, OK? Not as good as you, obviously, but good. Now, gimme a minute. Just wait in the hall. Please," He added as Lee's eyes grew huge with emotion, "I just want a bit of privacy while I think."

"This is most unorthodox." Lee warned him, reluctantly moving to the door.

"Yeah, well," Naruto grumbled, "I'm an unorthodox kind of Hokage."

The cup of noodles had cooled to an inedible temperature. He set the chopsticks down next to the cup rather sadly.

He glanced out of the window. There was a square of pure blue sky visible, messenger hawks occasionally flitting across, little flecks of darkness against a beautiful azure. It was one of those days where the heat was almost tangible, the air a floating, hot haze.

Naruto brushed aside Daiki's letter and put his head in his hands. If his shoulders shook briefly, he could blame it on the residual anger and bitterness that still lingered in the wake of Sasuke's departure.

He blinked hard, and tears fell down his cheeks, to his surprise and consternation.

xxxxxxxx

The cell door opened slowly, dented metal swinging on its hinges to reveal Itachi sitting calmly on his bed. His reaction upon seeing her was simply that of pleasant surprise.

"Why will you only talk to me?" Sakura walked into the cell, arms folded, face set in annoyance. Tenten stood at her side, a guard dog ready to maul at the first sign of trouble.

"As far as I know," Sakura bent down to maintain eye contact with the sitting man, ignoring his carefully blank expression, "We've never met before. You seem to find my questioning boring and unsubtle. Why does it have to be me?"

"I find myself in a uncommunicative mood today," Itachi replied, his dark eyes settling on her face in that familiar yet infuriatingly intense way, "So there is no need to go over my reasoning."

"I'm going away," Sakura said abruptly, "I'll be gone for a while. You'll have to talk to someone else.

"I will speak to another."

_Oh thank God._ "Who?"

"The Rokudaime Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto… I believe you know him."

"This isn't a game, Uchiha-san. You need to help yourself here, Refusing to cooperate isn't going to help you. The Hokage is obviously far too busy to bother himself with questioning you." Sakura said, frustrated.

"Where are you going?" Itachi asked, sounding genuinely interested.

Sakura looked at him, forcing her expression to be feigned indifference, all the while wondering why he wanted to know.

"Away," She hedged, "I don't know how long for. But, since all of the information you've given me lately has been less than useless, I doubt assigning you another interrogator wouldn't be worth the bother."

"Would it bother you, if someone else spoke to me and got results?"

"No, because I am loyal to my village and any triumph for them is a victory for myself." Sakura automatically recited from the ninja handbook.

"Any triumph for them is a victory for myself," Itachi's smirk was a shade more bitter now, "You must have been a diligent student, for Konoha's brainwashing to have sunk in this far. The Hokage must be proud his esteemed teammate followed the teachings so thoroughly that she was promoted to… what rank are you? Chuunin?"

"I could be higher if I wanted," Sakura snapped without thinking, "I chose to stay a chuunin!"

Itachi's eyes glittered with interest, looking like two dark jewels in this gloomy cell.

"An odd choice. But an interesting one."

"Glad to entertain you." Sakura growled and moved to storm out, when Itachi moved his head to the side, revealing a large, swollen bruise on his shoulder as his thin black shirt slipped down.

Ibiki had said there was no point in torturing him… Sakura looked sharply at Tenten, who shook her head.

"Oh no, he got that by disrespecting Morino-san to his face. Don't worry about it."

But there was no need to inflict unnecessary suffering, however small, to someone who had surrendered willingly. Even if he was a disobedient, unhelpful little annoyance.

Sakura bent down, hand moving out to touch Itachi's shoulder clinically to assess the damage. She heard the _shlick_ of scraping metal from behind her, and she sensed a small weapon being held to her head.

"Sakura, I can't allow you to use your chakra –"

"It'll be fine, Tenten." Sakura said firmly, tracing a pattern in Itachi's damaged skin, watching it melt into a healthy peach shade with fascination.

Itachi leant forward as she healed his shoulder, so that every puff of breath he gave rustled her bangs like a gentle breeze bothering a tree.

* * *

Too tired to say anything here.

**Quick poll for fun: **If you could change any plot twist in Naruto, what would you change and why?

For example, some people prefer to think of Tobi as Obito, not Madara/whoever he's supposed to be.


	5. Green Apples, Silver Fish

This chapter spoils the pre-timeskip Naruto movies, _Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow_ and _Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom._ I thoroughly recommend the Moon one, I loved it. _Legend of the Stone Gelel_ was just kind of… meh. Gaara didn't have enough screen time for my liking. Don't read this chapter if you've not watched those two movies! (and you still want to)

* * *

The road to the docks was long and hot. The ground beneath their feet was dusty and shifted with every step. Sandals quickly filled with dirt, dust discoloured ankles. Ignoring their discomfort, the party moved on.

Sakura eyed the sky above them. It was peacefully azure and filled with puffy white clouds. They walked through fields belonging to civilian farmers, the road taking them through dusty tracks and grassy meadows so far. She felt very small; surrounded by softly swaying, long grass, the road stretched out ahead of her, the sky remaining huge and oppressive.

On their right, a woman was operating a stone well with a rusty bucket perched on the side. She had a tanned, worn sort of face, with a huge white smile. She pushed aside dark hair and raised her squalling child higher on her hip. The well was old and crumbling, new red brick replaced stone here and there in a patchwork attempt to fix it.

Sakura watched the woman send the bucket down into the depths of the well, watched her smile at the baby, and felt her heart ache, just for a moment, before she turned her eyes to the sky.

As a child, she had found eggs the same azure blue as the sky, tucked away in a nest, high up in a tree. She had taken one to show her mother, who had scolded her and made her return it, explaining that the mummy bird needed to keep the eggs warm. Sakura remembered feeling so guilty for taking the little bird away from its mummy, but the shell had been such a pretty shade of blue…

It was Lee's turn to pull the wagon they needed for supplies. They probably could have found an animal at one of the farms they passed by to pull it, but in the times they would speed up (every other hour), no horse or donkey could have kept up.

Lee was smiling brightly as usual, his arms muscles bulging from the exertion. This little task probably didn't come close to his daily challenges he always set himself. Once Naruto had assured him Kiba was more than happy to fill in as bodyguard, Lee had relaxed, and was really throwing himself into the mission now.

The mission.

Sakura caught Kakashi's eye. He walked at her left, next to the wagon, his hand in his pocket where she knew he was keeping his oldest copy of Icha Icha. His eye crinkled up into his usual smile, but his shoulders were low. She knew his opinion of the mission was the same as hers.

Of course, the moment Naruto had told her about their newest lead on Sasuke, she'd leapt at the job. She'd travel the length of the country and back if it meant catching a glimpse of her lost friend.

But they had done this before. A credible source had sworn Sasuke was hiding in Iwa. It had been a long trip and every step of the way Sakura's hopes had swelled bigger and bigger until she had convinced herself that that was the day they would find Sasuke and he'd come home at last. They'd searched the village extensively the first day, asking everyone if they knew where he was. Then, they had waited a week for him to show up. He never had.

To travel to the Land of Spring on the off chance that Sasuke was hiding somewhere in the country was testing her limits. She had decided a long time ago to never get her hopes up too far when it came to Sasuke. For now, she would treat this as another mission. A chance to see the beautiful Land of Spring again, to meet the new daimyo and see how she was faring.

She pushed past some long grass, grimacing at the stickiness that clung to her fingers, keeping up the relaxed pace they had set themselves. Her leg muscles thrummed happily, every step sending shockwaves up her calves in a pleasant buzz. As a twelve year old, she had had a lot of trouble with long distance travelling on foot but now she welcomed it as a chance to get out of the hospital.

The hospital was glum lately. She'd pushed for some decorations, any chance to add colour to the damned place, but she'd been rejected. It was just so white and sterile and she'd begun to associate the smell of disinfectant with death. She came home with her hands stinging and her chakra low, Yuki mewing hungrily and winding around her legs, tired down to her bones in ways missions never caused.

She remembered throwing away some flowers a patient had received not long ago. The flowers lasted longer than the patient did, petals just beginning to curl up, leaves wilting. It had become a hospital unwritten rule that if it was Sakura's patient, the flowers would thrive far longer than usual. If she lingered at the end of a shift to trim a few stems, snip off a few leaves and straighten out some petals, that was between her and the patient. But sometimes, taking care of patients wasn't as easy as their flowers.

"Nearly there." Kakashi said, his lazy drawl cutting through the comfortable silence that had built between the three of them. He pointed ahead.

Sakura squinted. A thin strip of blue lay on the horizon, below the white clouds. A seagull cried out overhead.

The sea.

xxxxxxxx

It hadn't taken much to get the three of them and their wagon onto a large merchant ship. Not much money, anyway. Sakura, though doubting the point of this mission, hadn't hesitated to fork over the asking price. Kakashi had tried to pay but for some reason, she really wanted to be the one that got them on the ship. She felt useful now, at any rate.

There wasn't much to do but wait now. The ship had travelled pretty far out by this point. Sakura wasn't sure how the transition from the Land of Snow to Spring had worked exactly, but there was a new bite to the air.

Sakura leant back, elbows resting on the ship's edge. The sky was now wintry blue mixed with steel grey, clouds swirling around the vast expanse of sky.

"You look tired." Kakashi remarked, his eye looking fond as he walked up to her.

She scrubbed at her cheek with the back of her fist, wishing she could bathe, "Do I? Are you saying I have wrinkles?" She gave a little laugh at the thought. It sounded high and girlish, out of place on the deck of a ship full of hard-working sailors.

"If you have wrinkles already, I'm doomed," Kakashi said gloomily, "For all you know, my face is falling apart with age."

"Heh, you're still young yet, sensei," Sakura smiled at him. The most she'd seen of his face was a glimpse of his profile as he disappeared behind a sliding door. They'd all gone to a bath house and he'd emerged from his room with a white cloth wrapped round his face. She still cherished that memory, the sudden, amazing sight of her sensei's mysterious face. He'd been about twenty-eight then, and he still looked young and handsome from the side.

"Only thirty-five." She said cheerfully.

"My students are all twenty-one." He shook his head sadly, "I feel older because of that."

He stood next to her, arms crossed. He looked across at the sea, wide and glittering in the sunlight.

Another ship passed by, a sailing boat. Sakura could see the silvery fish wriggling in big nets. Men with red faces, panting with exertion, yanked the nets back into the ship until the captive fish spilled on deck. A ragged cheer rose from the sailors at the fine catch.

"I used to eat apples with my mother," Sakura said thoughtfully. Kakashi gave her a sideways glance, "Big green ones. She'd cut mine up for me, even after I started to learn how to use kunai in school. She still wanted me to be careful with knives. It's funny, really. She didn't have a clue. Fish was expensive and I didn't like it much, but it was still a treat whenever Dad brought some home. I liked the apples more."

She thought of big green apples on white plates, of silvery fish being slowly roasted at a festival, the smell coating the air as they all walked past the stall.

Kakashi was quiet for a while as she was lost in her memories.

"Saury." He spoke up, his voice dry and carefully neutral, "That's what my father would bring home. I remember being so excited, no matter how many times he brought it back. I never showed how excited I was, but I guess he would have known. I've not had it in a while."

Sakura gave a little hum, considering, "Let's have some when we get back. They just opened a new stall, didn't they? I'm sure they sell fish there."

Kakashi's eye crinkled, "Sure, when I've got time."

The wind was chillier now, but she felt a little warmer as she thought of her mother's careful hands slicing apples just for her.

"You stopped taking on missions." Kakashi said, turning his head to look at her.

She felt her smile drop and glared up at the sky, "I've just had a lot more shifts at the hospital lately, it's been getting harder to balance both jobs."

"I checked down at the hospital," He said lightly, "You put yourself forward for more shifts. You always volunteer. That way, when Naruto calls you for a mission, you are too busy. What's going on, Sakura?"

She stared at the Sun, feeling tears prick. She told herself it was the cold. _What's going on, Sakura?_

"I like feeling useful," She said aloud, "The woman in charge, she's new. She told me I'm the best of all the nurses. She said I had a future in medicine. It felt nice."

"You are a chuunin," He replied, his voice gentle, "You have a duty to your village, to Naruto. He's new too, you know? He needs your support. He needs good workers."

"Chuunin!" Sakura snapped, throwing up her hands. Kakashi frowned, "You know how many ninja of my rank work in Konoha right now? You know how many kids are made chuunin every year? Who needs a twenty-one year old chuunin?"

"Iruka is still chuunin. There's no age limit on it. There's no shame in being a chuunin, a genin, whatever rank. There's shame in shirking your duties."

"That's different, Iruka-sensei is important, he teaches, he doesn't go on missions. What do I do? I'm a nurse. It's all I'm good at." Sakura ignored him moving closer to her, the hand he placed on her shoulder.

When she was a kid, she was always ahead. Reading ahead, scoring higher in tests, getting praised for her ability. She was envied by all of the class. She was popular too. Her parents loved receiving high marked essays to stick up on the walls and to brag about to the neighbours. But, as she grew older and the focus in lessons started to shift to taijutsu, she felt herself beginning to fall behind.

She had B's in everything except classroom attitude (A) and taijutsu (C).

Then, Team 7 began and she suddenly had two other genin to constantly measure her abilities against. It was easy for Iruka to say Naruto wasn't good at thinking or that Sasuke's cooperation was limited, but they both always put that aside in battles and succeeded. Sakura's limitation was more crippling.

So she'd trained hard with Tsunade and was rewarded with what was now her signature move – super powered limbs. She could kick through mountains, throw people over horizons. She'd felt happy and even a little smug. Now, she could reach her potential, stand at Naruto and Sasuke's side.

But she started getting older, and her classmates slowly started to be promoted. Leaving her behind again. Tsunade never called her into her office to tell her she was thinking of promoting her to jounin. Giving her the chance to work with her old friends, to test her skills, to have higher ranked missions.

Whenever she did missions now, they were C-rank or B-rank. Ino had a real job, one that she loved and was very good at. Tenten was a soldier.

And now, Sasuke, apparently, was a hired killer.

And she was a chuunin.

"I don't want to be left behind, Kakashi-sensei." She said softly.

He let out a little sigh.

"Doing missions with strangers is no fun, but it's work and it makes you feel useful. Necessary. Sign up for more missions. Go out with your friends more. Naruto says you never hang out anymore."

"You don't 'hang out' with the Hokage." Sakura made a face.

"Oh, as if you never went drinking with Tsunade?"

She couldn't deny that… "It was more like, she dragged me to bars and I tried to study without getting sake spilled on me, but I suppose so, yes."

"If you're being left behind, it's your own stubbornness that's doing it," Kakashi cuffed her lightly on the head, knocking his fist against her skull, "You're hanging back, hoping someone will stay with you. You need to catch them up, not pull them back. More missions, Sakura. Raise your grade first, promotion will soon follow."

"You think so?" Sakura asked, trying not to get her hopes up.

He nodded, "That's how it works. I even know a few dead-last losers who made something special of themselves. Jiraiya was addicted to porn and was always failing his classes. He became one of the strongest ninja of his age," He chuckled, "I even taught a guy like him, you know? And he went on to become Hokage. Twenty-one is not old, Sakura. You're still growing. Give yourself some time."

A few white specks drifted down from the clouds. Snow.

She looked up and felt the cold kiss her face.

Twenty-one is not old.

xxxxxxxx

An entourage waited on the docks.

Yukie stood waiting patiently, surrounded by guards and handmaidens. A vast wooden umbrella was held in place by several servants to shield her from the sun. She wore an oversized purple robe, the sleeves hanging down to her sides, the hem covering her feet.

Sakura put her arm around a seasick Lee, guiding him off the ship onto the dock. They all stepped off the plank onto the sun-bleached dock, their wagon of supplies already hauled off by some helpful ship workers.

Yukie stepped forward to receive them, arms open in welcome. Sakura noticed her face fall slightly as she took in the sight of Sakura, Lee and Kakashi walking towards her.

"Friends, you are very welcome here," Yukie began, her smile returning, "But is Naruto not with you?"

_Every girl he meets on missions falls for him_, Sakura thought sourly. Where's _my_ handsome, very grateful daimyo?

"Yukie-sa – oh, I'm sorry! Koyuki-hime," Sakura flushed at her mistake, "I'm afraid it was judged this mission is too dangerous for the Hokage."

"Hokage," Koyuki threw her head back, laughing cheerfully, "I always believed he'd manage it, you know. He taught me not to give up, I knew he'd do the same."

"You know about the mission we have?" Kakashi stepped forward, giving a deep bow.

Koyuki nodded, looking contemplative, "The sulky kid who came with you before. You think he's here, right?"

"Sasuke. Yes, we've been told he's working as a mercenary in the Land of Spring, so we would like to have a look at your records –" Kakashi began to explain, before Koyuki held up a hand.

"No need. Mercenary? Well, we definitely have a foreign ninja in the wastelands, picking off criminals. He's more of a bounty hunter, though. He doesn't kill civilians. Mostly, we just leave him be. If it is your Sasuke, it'll be a shame to lose him; he's cut down the crime rate by a neat percentage." Koyuki sighed, shrugging.

"Why couldn't Sasuke-kun hide out in the Land of Moon?" Sakura muttered to Lee, "We could have had a vacation for once. Beaten some sense into him and still had time to do some gambling."

She thought she was speaking too quietly to be overheard, but Kakashi's eye curved up in an amused smile.

Lee nudged her, his face returning to a normal colour instead of the sickly green it had been for most of the voyage.

"Well, I'll give you a few men to take to the wastelands. It's the part of the Land that still has snow. We still haven't fully worked out how to make the machine make it Spring everywhere, but it's nice to have a part of Winter around. Reminds me of my childhood." Koyuki mused, smiling.

"And Sasuke-kun is supposed to be there?" Sakura asked.

"Well, the bounty hunter is quite famous for either leaving criminals tied up left outside the guardhouse or dead in the woods with holes burned through them with some kind of electricity weapon. He's been traced back from there by the guards plenty of times, and I think we can roughly pinpoint his location."

She and Kakashi went off to examine some maps, leaving Sakura and Lee to watch the people going by, marvelling at the new peace and prosperity the Land clearly celebrated.

The thought that she had at least helped to put Koyuki back on the throne was amazing to Sakura. It was nice, being able to reflect on their achievements.

"Um, Sakura-san?" Lee asked, sounding hesitant.

Sakura made an affirmative noise, not really listening.

"Are you alright?"

She looked at him, startled.

"It's just, um, this is an important mission, right? We're finally going to retrieve Sasuke-kun. I thought you would be more…"

"Worried? Gloomy? Brooding?" Sakura suggested, laughing when Lee looked sheepish, "Oh, Lee. I don't know how I should feel. Feeling hopeful seems silly when so much could go wrong, even if it really is Sasuke-kun. If it is, you can bet I'll be furious with him."

Lee looked more encouraged, "Yes! That's it, Sakura-san! Fan the flames of fury, your youth will see you through what will undoubtedly be a difficult battle, and yet –"

"Lee, I think it's time." Sakura interrupted, pointing to where Kakashi and Koyuki were leaving the tent that had been hastily assembled for their meeting.

"Oh!" Lee sprang to attention, his armour clanking loudly at the sudden movement.

"We've got a visual," Kakashi gestured vaguely to his left as if to indicate some invisible person, "A girl spotted someone matching Sasuke's description in the woods. They found a dead serial killer afterwards, with lightning burns. Sound like anyone we know? We're going to head into these woods and approach his apparent location from the left, the trees are thickest there."

Sakura refused to be fazed by the sudden very real prospect of meeting Sasuke again. All that was going to happen was they were going to stumble across a half-mad lumberjack with the same haircut as Sasuke.

"Sakura." Kakashi's tone was serious. She looked up at him, biting her lip. "I want to make sure you are fully prepared for this. You can't charge in there like Naruto, but if you are going to be overwhelmed emotionally, I would advise you stay behind. You could get hurt."

"I didn't travel this far to cry and get knocked out or something, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura rolled her eyes, "If I have to fight, I will."

"Good. Let's go, everyone."

xxxxxxxx

It had started to snow three hours ago. They had been driving in a car, a vehicle made of metal, but they needed to approach stealthily to avoid spooking Sasuke/the half-mad lumberjack, so they were now travelling on foot.

'It's really cold, damn it.' Sakura angrily signed to Lee as they crept through the snow.

Lee signed back, 'Courage! The fire of youth melts all obstacles, cold notwithstanding –'

'Nearly there, kids.' Kakashi's hand flashed before their eyes, cutting off their silent conversation.

They were walking through the forest, the snow ankle-deep. The treetops formed a roof that cut off most of the Sun's light, only a few patches allowing light to highlight their surroundings, enough to reveal the quiet, white forest they were surrounded by. The further they travelled, the darker the forest became, the trees beginning to thicken until they were having to actively avoid crashing into them in the low lighting.

She couldn't hear any birds or chirping insects.

'Should we really just approach like this, head on? What's the point of approaching stealthily if we aren't concealed?' Sakura signed.

Kakashi's shoulders shook with silent laughter, 'I'm afraid Koyuki-sama's guards are enthusiastic, but they aren't ninja. They're making too much noise for us to bother with hiding ourselves. However, I won't be approaching so obviously, just in case Sasuke turns nasty. You ready to distract?'

Sakura heaved a sigh, 'The distraction again? One day I'm going to be the stealthy silent ninja and you are going to be the distraction.'

'Not today at least. Make it loud, will you? Get Lee to help.' Kakashi signed cheerfully before vanishing completely.

Sakura didn't have to look to know he was hiding in the treetops.

"Alright, Lee!" Sakura said loudly. Koyuki's guards turned to stare at her, confused. "I think we must be nearly there."

"Sakura-san, we should be quiet!" Lee hissed.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "No, Kakashi-sensei wants us to be loud to get Sasuke-kun's attention." She saw Lee did not comprehend, or at least see a way to help. She sighed, knowing Lee was going to be furious about what she was going to say, "Gai-sensei is overrated."

"WHAT?! GAI-SENSEI IS A SPLENDID NINJA WHO HAS WORKED HARDER THAN ANY OTHER SHINOBI TO BECOME THE TALENTED TAIJUTSU MASTER THAT HE IS TODAY! I WANT NOTHING MORE THAN TO BE AS SKILLED AS HE IS ONE DAY AND I WILL NOT TOLERATE SUCH INSULTING –"

"So noisy."

Sakura froze.

Lee stuttered to a halt, his bellows cutting off instantly.

The guards grabbed their weapons.

Sasuke dropped down in front of them, dressed completely in white, a hood covering his dark hair, his large collar obscuring the lower half of his face. Two black eyes stared out of his pale, handsome face, unchanged by the harsh weather or time.

"Sasuke-kun." Sakura breathed out in disbelief.

He drew a sword, the end curved and sharp. He pointed it towards them.

"What are you doing here?" He asked quietly, dark eyes locked on Sakura's.

* * *

The lumberjack looms ever closer, it seems.

Or, you know. Sasuke. It could be him. I still believe in the lumberjack theory.

This was a very fun chapter to write :) Trying to get a fix on Sakura's character at the moment, but it's hard to reconcile that with twenty-one year old Sakura, who lives under very different circumstances. Hm…

Yes, Lee knows the word 'notwithstanding' in shinobi sign language XD

Quickest way to make a loud distraction when you have Rock Lee at hand? Insult Gai-sensei XD

Next chapters when the fun (or not) begins!

No Itachi in this chapter. I know, I know, but save for accompanying Sakura via becoming a spirit guide and floating out of his body to follow her to the Land of Spring, I couldn't think of a way for him to come. Sorry! :(

**Quick poll because, well, why shouldn't I? My civil liberties indicate I should be allowed to ask polls whenever I want: **Who is the most frightening villain you have ever come across in a book?

No suggestions.


	6. New Swords, Old Tricks

Snow was falling slowly, hazy white shapes blurring in and out of her vision as she stared at Sasuke, drinking in every difference, every change in his appearance.

He was taller. If he came closer, he would tower over her. His skin was pale, unhealthily so, and it looked as though his musculature was less prominent, so he had lost weight at some point. It just made his cheekbones stand out even more.

And yet… she couldn't look away, even as she felt the first tears burning behind her eyes, he looked exactly the same. Just like before.

It was like the ghost of Sasuke had appeared before her. Everything felt dreamlike, the snow, the crushing silence, Sasuke's dark eyes steadily gazing at her. She could feel Lee looking at her as well, tense as a coiled whip, waiting for the order to strike.

Sakura tipped her head back, feeling the tears subside before they had even become visible. Snow fell lazily through the gaps in the treetops, the occasional clump falling heavily with a cushioned thump from a branch.

Hold it together Sakura, she thought firmly. Today is not about you.

"Konoha considers you a missing nin, Sasuke-kun," She said calmly, her voice so steady and even she was almost certain it was coming from someone else because there was no way when faced with Sasuke so suddenly that she would be able to be so damn _calm, _"That's why we're here."

"Konoha sent such a small team to retrieve me?" Sasuke's sharp eyes scanned her, picking at her like a vulture to a corpse, "I'm not a fool, Sakura."

"You've been a missing nin for about… ten years," Sakura said, the breath whooshing out of her at the thought. Ten years. Unreal. "The Hokage thought it was time for you to come home. Are you telling me that a bigger team was necessary, that you don't want to come back?"

Sasuke's lip curled ever so slightly, just a fraction of a movement, "If I've been gone for ten years, isn't it obvious?"

"We don't have to fight, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, biting her bottom lip to stop it trembling, from the cold and whatever else. The thought of this descending into another fight like the one they'd had at Orochimaru's base, Sakura stupidly, hopelessly charging towards him and being humiliated at never actually being engaged in the fight – sure he'd raised his sword against her, but he'd stabbed poor Yamato after he jumped in the way, and his chidori had never once touched her. She'd stood there, useless as always.

"If you come back peacefully, you are sure to be received back in Konoha in kind." She said cautiously, wanting to take a step forward, hands up to show no weapons, but not trusting him to take it as an attack.

"I've not broken any laws," Sasuke drawled, "All I've done is leave the village."

"After abandoning it to apprentice yourself to a Sannin-level missing nin, attempting to kill your old team, countless other offences…" Sakura tapped her arm as she listed it all, watching his expression grow as cold as their wintry surroundings.

"Sakura-san, I think we could transport Sasuke-kun back securely, but not as a prisoner," Lee began to say earnestly, before Sakura shook her head.

"They have been finding bodies in this wood, Sasuke-kun," She said, staring at him unblinkingly, "Have you been killing people?"

"For money, yes," Sasuke's eyes flicked upwards very briefly, "But it's not dissimilar from your own job as a shinobi."

"Less unsavoury," Sakura frowned, "More legal."

"Still killing," Sasuke shrugged, eyes wide, "But no one comes after you with an armed guard."

"You'd be surprised," Sakura laughed even as her eyebrows twisted up in a telling sign of sadness. Oh, yes, she'd been chased, she'd fought for her life and she'd been hated for what she was, a woman coming to other villages to kill people who she'd been paid to kill. Life was life. Death was a bit more complicated.

"But I guess… you aren't interested in tales about the old days, or life in Konoha," Sakura ventured hesitantly. Sasuke's expression didn't change. "The village has expanded, you know. The Academy is bigger –"

"And the Uchiha Compound," He looked at her with flinty, hard eyes, "What –"

"Untouched," Sakura said hastily, "As always."

He looked down at the snow at their feet. "Good. The problem is, Sakura, I don't think you can take me. I don't think you, a ninja who can't even do basic jutsu, and a handful of non-shinobi guards, can take me."

He glanced around and it was only then that Sakura noticed his Sharingan was not activated and hadn't been this whole time.

"Where's the dobe?" He asked, his body tensing visibly.

Sakura made a point of glancing around casually, "I don't know."

"He's gotten better at stealth," Sasuke said in that superior tone that she remembered from her childhood – _you're worse than Naruto_ – and wasn't it just lovely that even though here she was, he was _still_ wondering where Naruto was, clearly waiting for _that_ encounter, not caring one bit that the other half of Team Seven was standing before him?

"I didn't think we'd have to take you, Sasuke-kun. I thought you would come willingly." Sakura said, drawing a breath to deliver the final blow, the news that –

"Still just a stupid girl." Sasuke said quietly, eyes on the floor, and Sakura sucked in a breath, hurt and shocked and too late she realised why he'd looked down.

In a second he was in front of them, fist slamming into the empty space where Lee's head used to be, before he'd dodged in the infinitesimal time his speed and reflexes allowed him.

Lee moved back automatically, Sasuke chasing him down with another kick but this time –

Sakura caught Sasuke's foot, so damn angry she couldn't see straight, and twisted hard enough to break it, throwing it away as Sasuke grunted in pain.

Lee's leg swept out in a devastating scythe, just barely missing Sasuke as he staggered back, one foot useless, eyes still Uchiha black, not Sharingan red and just what game was he playing at here?

Sasuke kicked up enough snow to briefly blind them and suddenly birds screeched, blue-white light seared Sakura's eyes and she was ducking to avoid a fistful of lightning.

Bastard, she seethed, bastard!

Lee's knee connected with Sasuke's stomach, hard enough to break several ribs, face a picture of concentration, a hint of apology in his eyes. Lee could never quite stomach the idea of fighting a former ally.

Koyuki's guard had barely had enough time to realise what was going on, the shinobi fight furiously quick and nearly invisible to their slow eyes, but they seemed to realise they needed to stay out of the way because they stood back, giving them space, hands on their weapons.

Sakura nodded to Lee and he did a handspring backwards, Sasuke's head jerking upwards, off-balance from the pain and his broken foot and Sakura's foot roughly struck him in the chest, sending him flying into a nearby tree. He slid down to the snow, coughing wetly.

"You aren't fighting seriously," Sakura snapped because they weren't here to kill Sasuke and to continue this sham of a fight would mean doing just that, "When are you going to take me seriously?"

Sasuke looked up at her pain-filled black eyes, a smirk tugging at his blooded lips and she remembered _today is not about you._

Tears came to her eyes unwillingly.

"You stupid bastard," She smacked her fist against her palm, "You want to die, don't you?"

Lee came to stand by her side, silent, loyal support as always.

"I've waited a long time," Sasuke said, voice intense and serious, red flicking about his lips as he spoke, "For Naruto to come, and for everything to end, one way or another."

"You could have just come home." Sakura said bitterly, something in her chest tightening. Why Naruto? Why not me?

"I didn't see the point." Sasuke said, "I didn't want to be there."

"Well," Sakura said, "I'm not going to kill you. Lee won't either. Koyuki-hime's guards won't do anything we don't ask them to. You have a choice here, come home with us willingly, or be dragged back."

Sasuke wiped his mouth and looked at the blood on his hand, "You've gotten stronger."

It would have been a balm for her deeply laid insecurities, catharsis for the wounds his old words had left, had he not been speaking in such a dull, uncaring tone, his words just that – words. Empty.

"No," Sakura said, surprising herself with her honesty, "I've not. I neglected my training. I don't fight anymore, not really."

"Why not?" Sasuke asked, with no real wish to hear the answer, that was clear from his indifferent expression.

"I didn't see the point." Sakura repeated his words, watching him carefully. The corner of his mouth twitched upwards again.

She moved towards him, dropping down in the snow, ignoring the way the cold immediately seeped through the thick winter trousers she was wearing.

He looked up at her, his hood down and mask off, face completely devoid of emotion.

"I worked on my healing," Sakura said, ignoring Lee's warning murmur. She placed a gentle hand on Sasuke's chest and felt his ribs mend instantly with just a twitch of chakra. He breathed out shakily, eyeing her with what appeared to be genuine assessment, "I'm actually fairly good at that."

He gave the shortest of laughs, still shocking enough for Sakura to stare at him, "So modest now. Where is the girl who climbed trees before we did?"

Sakura remembered that. The thrill of getting it right, the chakra moulding the way she wanted, the scholarly enjoyment of applying theory into practice and getting it _right._ And Sasuke's sullen face, so jealous of any achievement that wasn't his. But she'd been blind to that at the time, like every fault of his, and had taken it as her own fault.

Sakura examined his foot and felt a flicker of guilt. He'd attacked them, not the other way round, and yet it was he who lay broken in the snow. She healed it without even thinking, the bones she'd snapped knitting together. She noticed it was fairly weak, as though it had been injured many times before, so she strengthened it with another flicker of will, a pulse of chakra.

She stood up, catching Lee's eye and walking towards him. She felt sad and a bit useless, really. Naruto would have charged in, shouted at Sasuke about bonds and friendship and maybe got himself killed or Sasuke and it would all have been very meaningful and poignant.

Lee's eyes went wide.

"I'm sorry, but I can't go back." Sasuke said from behind her just as birds began to chirp and lightning screeched and cracked the air.

She had enough time to think, _of course he wouldn't compliment me, notice me, act as though I have any importance, not unless he was planning something_.

She turned sharply, ready to block the blow, and there was a dark blur between them and the sound of a bone splintering split the silence.

Kakashi stood between them, Sasuke's wrist hanging limp and broken in his fist. Sasuke's eyes were red, the tomoes spinning. The lightning flickered and died around his useless hand.

He met Sakura's eyes with something very like an apology written in his own.

"Let him go." Sakura said, jaw trembling with effort.

Kakashi gave her one of his sideways looks that begged caution, and let Sasuke's wrist go.

Sasuke immediately tried to leap backwards, but Sakura kicked off the ground in a furious blast of chakra, not caring about being wasteful, and met him in the air.

"Still playing at being a ninja?" He asked, flying backwards.

He pulled a sword from the holster strapped to his back and pointed it between them, landing on the ground without a noise.

"Got yourself a new sword?" Sakura raised her eyebrows.

"I spent years developing a fighting style with a sword. Of course I got another one."

"Not much of a fighting style. Looks to me as though you just want to get yourself killed."

"I could say the same for you. If you had any sense, you would have allowed Kakashi to gut me there and then," He tipped his head back to meet Kakashi's eye, which of course was staring at them, "I know he at least, would have done it."

"Good to see you again," Kakashi said calmly, "Sakura, back up a bit."

"I don't want to be in this position again," Sakura told Sasuke, staring at the space just below his eye, "I'm sick and tired of being saved. Of being your damn cheerleader, there to motivate you when you aren't acting like the big tough man you need to be. Of being left to stand in tears, praying and hoping that everything will work itself out without my help as you and Naruto have another stupid display of machismo."

Sasuke smoothed two fingers down the edge of his blade, testing its sharpness. His fingers came away red and wet. He could have tested it on something sturdier and less fragile than his own flesh but of _course_ – big tough man.

"Now I know that Kakashi-sensei, Lee and I can take you, especially with your ridiculous apparent death wish. But I know it won't be necessary to fight you. You'll come back of your own accord."

Sasuke looked intrigued at that, mouth opening to speak – a diversion, obviously, because his sword came out of nowhere and she was either faster than she thought or his speed had dramatically decreased over the years, because she grabbed his broken wrist and tugged it, sinking her own fist into his stomach with the momentum.

He let out a pained hiss and sank to his knees, his snapped wrist still trapped in her grip. She tugged his sword out of his other hand and pointed it at the back of his neck. He froze, every muscle trembling, his hands clenching into fists.

She bent down, the point of the sword digging into the back of his neck, and met his red eyes.

"We have your brother." She said slowly, enunciating every word carefully.

His eyes whirred furiously around sickeningly until they snapped back into black. The pink spots of colour on his cheeks from the cold had drained away until his white face could have been sculpted from the snow around them.

"Alive." Sasuke said, voice flat.

"Very much so," Sakura agreed, rather wishing he wasn't, "He surrendered. Wandered up Konoha's front path like he'd been invited."

"What could he want?" Sasuke's brows tightened together. He pushed himself up to his feet, Sakura barely managing to remove the sword from his neck before he did.

She wasn't prepared for the look of absolute shock and horror he shot her. "Sasuke-kun, what – "

"Nothing." Sasuke said, the look disappearing from his face as quickly as it had appeared, now looking hunted and stressed, "I'll come. To Konoha."

"We aren't just going to throw you in a room with him and let you do your worst," Sakura said, a touch primly, "Unfortunately, he has rights, according to the Council. I don't want you to come back with us under false pretences, Sasuke-kun. It's very likely Itachi will be executed and you may not be permitted to see it."

Sasuke chewed on his lip savagely, running a hand through his hair as he deliberated.

Kakashi and Lee stood behind them, trusting her judgement.

"I'll come anyway. But I'm not joining Konoha, I won't sign any damn contracts. Give me the chance to see him once. That's it."

Sakura's hard resolve melted. Of course he'd want to see him. He massacred his whole family. She knew what she'd do to the man who had – no. Dangerous thoughts.

"Have you seen him?" Sasuke looked up at her, still frowning deeply. He had a premature frown line etched lightly between his brows. She felt the hardness inside her melt a little more, her anger and resentment fading ever so slightly. _Twenty-one is not old._

"Yes, actually. I'm the head of the squad set to interrogate him." Well, that sounded better than, 'I'm Chief Babysitter.'

Sasuke gave her a look of disbelief and consternation, "You? Why would you be in charge of that?"

She scowled, stabbing his sword into the powdery snow with an audible crunch, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You've spoken with him." His jaw clenched noticeably at the confused look on her face, even more so when she nodded. "Come on." He said, suddenly brushing past her, dexterously retrieving his sword from her limp grip without her noticing.

He walked past Kakashi, the two men giving each other searching looks. Sasuke's back hardened, his muscles tensing. He moved towards the guards, obviously assuming they'd all just follow him.

Sakura gave Lee a little nod.

He sighed, but seized Sasuke by the shoulders and lightly struck the cluster of nerves in his neck. Sasuke crumpled to the floor, but Lee stopped his fall, holding him up, ever the gentleman.

"He was coming peacefully." Kakashi said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I know," Sakura affected a look of innocent dismay, "A pity he tripped and knocked himself unconscious."

Kakashi bumped her shoulder with his, laughing slightly. He gave her an affectionate once-over, "You did very well there."

"Well, no tears and I didn't throw up on him." Sakura said with forced casualness, not allowing herself to think of the gravity of the situation for a minute or she would be lost.

"Let's go home." Kakashi said warmly, tugging her closer for a hug. She sniffed, letting herself melt into the embrace, desperately seeking the comfort her sensei could give.

xxxxxxxx

Koyuki had given Sasuke an odd look – sympathy and sadness wrapped into one glance. Sakura knew how she felt. Last time she saw Sasuke, he was a perfectly normal twelve year old and now he was a thin-looking adult lying unconscious in Lee's arms with a broken wrist.

Sakura knocked on the cabin door, feeling the ship sway under her feet. She thought of poor Lee's green face, and knocked again.

Kakashi opened it and ushered her in.

Sasuke lay on the bed, secured with rope. His mouth was open slightly, his eyes closed.

"Has he woken up yet?" Sakura asked, glancing at her sensei before dropping to her knees to check Sasuke's pulse.

"Not yet."

Sakura turned Sasuke's head gently by the chin, revealing the beginnings of a nasty bruise on his neck.

"Oh Lee." She muttered softly.

She healed it and examined his wrist. The bones had been shattered by a very tight hold and a snap. Kakashi had not just been trying to subdue him, he wanted to hurt him too. Sakura remembered the chidori at her back and didn't blame him.

Still, she concentrated on knitting the bones and pierced flesh back into place. Her particular type of healing was like reversing the injury, as the bones had spread out, they returned back the way they came. It was a more painful method, but after a lot of experimenting in her youth she had found it was the only way to have complete accuracy, to avoid slotting a bone in the wrong place, missing a bleed somewhere.

"How's he doing?" Kakashi asked, the fact that he bothered to ask the question making it obvious how much he still cared about Sasuke, shattered wrist notwithstanding.

Sakura examined him more thoroughly, focusing on his eyes, knowing overuse always led to blindness for Uchihas. There had been no case in which that had not occurred, save for Itachi, who was remarkable in every area and thus an unknown variable.

"His eyes are actually in good shape," Sakura said, her voice sounding just as surprised as she felt, "He can't have been using his Sharingan very often over the years. Either that or he's been seeing a very skilled healer to fix the damage. His muscle tone is not as great as it used to be – don't give me that perverted look, I'm speaking from a medical perspective here – which indicates he's not been leading a vigorous lifestyle and that his diet has been poor."

"Sakura," Kakashi's voice was gentle. She turned around, startled.

"How are you doing?" He asked, "This is a fairly momentous day, after all."

"…I guess," She said after an awkward beat. She stood up, wiping her palms on her thighs, "I'm running on righteous fury and adrenaline, I think. When I calm down, when we've got Sasuke-kun safely back in Konoha… I bet that's when it'll all kick in and I'll punch someone."

"Well, your punches are more lethal than you know," Kakashi smiled with his lone eye in that expressive way of his, "I'll make sure to steer clear of you."

Sakura examined her knuckles reflectively. I know how lethal my punches are, she thought to herself. It's you who does not understand.

"I hear you've been stuck with Uchiha Itachi," Kakashi said reproachfully, "How the hell did that happen?"

"You must have heard," Sakura made a face. Surely her table bashing antics alone had made her infamous in the Anbu. He looked blank. Oh, of course. It would take more than breaking a table in a fit of pique to make her infamous anywhere. "When he came to Konoha, the only thing he would say is, 'I want to speak to Haruno Sakura.'"

Kakashi frowned, rubbing his chin in a telling gesture of agitation. It wasn't like him to be so obvious with his emotions, so Sakura could tell he was truly bothered by his old student having any connection with Uchiha Itachi.

"I don't like this. Akatsuki disbanded after Pain died and Itachi disappeared somewhere. I kind of hoped he'd stay disappeared. I never imagined he'd come back here willingly, to talk to you of all people… Had you ever even met him before?"

"Not formally," Sakura replied, feeling a bit sick. It was probably the fact that the boat had started bobbing up and down, "You, me, Naruto and Chiyo-sama, we met his clone… or whatever it was."

Kakashi's eye flickered from Sakura to Sasuke's unconscious face, and his stance tightened, "It's possible he was trying to get to Sasuke through you."

"You mean like… use us to smoke him out of his hiding place?"

"Use you. Could be. Especially after Naruto became Hokage, much harder to manipulate. I don't know where he would have heard of you, but we'll –"

"Ouch," Sakura said, laughing a little bitterly, "Thanks for the reminder that I'm not exactly well-known. I need those every now and then in case my ego gets too big."

Kakashi patted her on the shoulder, "You know what I mean. I don't think you should speak with him anymore. Unless he's been confessing anything of use."

"No, he hasn't, he's been uncooperative and annoying." Sakura sighed, aware that annoying was an unusual word to use to describe a serial killer, but that word, in her opinion, defined that damn man.

"So there's no point you being forced to interrogate him if he's useless." Kakashi said reasonably, smiling.

"Naruto's ordered me to talk to him on a regular basis." Sakura said dully, "Only because of Sasuke, but there's always a chance he knows something important…"

"I get it." Kakashi rubbed his head, leaning against the cabin's wall.

"He was nothing like I thought he'd be." Sakura offered conversationally, "I thought he'd be quiet, serious… creepy… but he's flirtatious and irreverent and he just… seems so normal… I can't understand how someone who has done awful things could behave in such an ordinary way…"

"That's the creepy part." Kakashi said cheerfully, "Killers can look like your favourite auntie."

* * *

Gah, it's so bloody hard to write Sakura without her descending into Mary Sue territory. I mean, honestly… having her talk to Sasuke, fight with him… I had the urge to make her flip her hair and make a witty, snarky comment whenever they talked. Urgh.

Going back to uni soon, which is odd because I've been off since May. May! Ridiculous length of time for a holiday. This means I probably won't be updating very quickly, but I won't forget any of my stories, I promise!

I'm horribly, awfully tired, so here's a poll for you lovely people :)

**Quick poll because it's become something of a tradition: **ItaSaku or SasuSaku? Give your reasons why :)

A) SasuSaku

B) ItaSaku

Over and out.


	7. Wagon Rides, Chakra Strings

The ship ride was long and bitterly cold. Sasuke woke up eventually, turned over in bed and refused to talk to anyone or respond to questions. Sakura would knock on his cabin door, enter with some food, leave it on the table and leave, then come back and take the empty plate away. That was the extent of their interactions.

All in all, she mused, she had expected Sasuke to put up a good fight, maybe even beat her. The pathetic, half-hearted fight that had ensued was nothing like the emotional battle she had envisioned.

Then again, Sasuke himself had never been what she'd expected at all. When she was a child, he'd seemed like a prince, so perfect, talented and handsome, and she'd fallen for him right from the start. The thin young man lying in his bed with his face to the wall was not the prince she had loved.

Now, as the ship docked and the contents within started being unloaded, it was time to bring him home.

"Sasuke-kun, I'm coming in." She knocked on the door and waited a few seconds for a reply. When none came, she entered the room.

He was sitting on the edge of his bed. He'd taken off his white hooded cloak a while ago, and wore simple black clothes. He was staring at the wall with an oddly focused gaze.

"It's time," Sakura said, closing the door behind her, "We're within walking distance of Konoha. Are you going to cooperate?"

Sasuke looked at her without interest, "I already told you."

Sakura sighed and came to stand in front of him, arms crossed, "This is serious, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke just looked at her, eyes hollow and shadowed.

Sakura threw her arms around his neck, unable to control herself. Sasuke froze under her grip, his muscles stiffening up. Sakura's fingers brushed against his neck, feeling the soft hair at the nape. She just stood there for a moment, bent over, her arms around his neck, her cheek against his ear, struggling to pull herself together.

His skin was cold and scarred.

"It doesn't matter how many years have passed," Sakura whispered urgently, "Naruto and I will always be on your side. If you need us, we'll do anything to help you, OK? Please don't do anything stupid."

Sasuke didn't hug her back, but he didn't push her away either.

"Thank you." Sakura said feelingly, pausing for a moment to breathe in the familiar scent of Sasuke.

Her fingers brushed against his neck. She pinched the cluster of nerves there and felt him go slack in her arms.

His head lolled on her shoulder drunkenly and she bit her lip against the tears that immediately threatened to shed.

"I've missed you." She whispered.

She laid him down on the bed and got out some chakra strings from her pack. She wound them tightly around his legs and wrists until he was completely bound.

She sat down next to him on the bed and put her head in her hands.

Sasuke was coming home. She'd brought him back, as promised. Naruto was going to be unbelievably happy.

But he _didn't want to come home._

He'd holed up in some snowy wastelands alone and waited for Naruto to come and finish him off. He had wanted to die.

She'd spoiled his plans, or rather, Itachi had.

It was all such a mess… Itachi, the murdering psychopath, had returned to Konoha of his own accord, but Sasuke, her teammate and friend, had to be bribed into returning.

She should be deliriously happy that Sasuke was returning at all, but since she'd grown up and matured she had found herself thinking less and less of Sasuke-the-missing-friend and more of Sasuke-the-missing-nin.

He had murdered people. Criminals, yes, but also whilst under Orochimaru's control he had murdered innocents. Anyone who got in his way.

She glanced at his face.

In unconsciousness, he looked just as blank and expressionless as he did while awake. There was no openness, no unguarded quality that she could savour.

This was just a mission. She was a chuunin tying up a criminal and hauling him back to the village he had abandoned.

Naruto would consider this a rescue mission, she mused. She didn't. Not anymore. He _chose_ to leave.

She hauled him off the bed and over her shoulder, keeping a tight grip on his legs.

'Sasuke-kun' was just as worthy of the disdainfully respectful title of 'Uchiha-san' as his murdering brother. She couldn't be like Naruto. She couldn't forgive so easily. Not when his chidori had nearly pierced through her back.

She needed to keep her emotions out of this. She wouldn't be the sixteen year old girl who had begged Sasuke to return. She respected herself far too much for that indignity.

That little embrace, the whispered plea, that would be her last display of weakness in front of either of the Uchiha brothers.

xxxxxxxx

His neck ached viciously. He breathed in sharply, his eyes opening slowly, blinking to adjust to the sudden darkness he found himself in.

He lay on a juddering, shaking construction of wood, a nail from one of the planks digging into his back. He rolled over and faced the sunlight.

He was in the back of a wagon, bound by chakra strings.

Voices were audible through the wood, the sound of the wheels crunching over the rocky ground almost swallowing them up.

"…Sasuke-kun should be allowed to see Itachi if he wants to_._" Sakura's voice, low and furious, to his left. He stared through the wood to the girl behind it, wondering if she looked as indignant as she sounded.

A sigh, heavy and Kakashi-flavoured, "I don't think that's a good idea. Bloodstains are a bitch to get out of the carpet and it would just be a disaster all round, Sakura."

"I promised." Sakura replied.

No you didn't, Sasuke thought to himself, don't try to burden yourself with this when it is none of your concern.

"Promises are very important, Kakashi-san!" The loud, emphatic voice of Rock Lee came from the front of the wagon, "Sakura would never break a promise, especially not a comrade as beloved as Sasuke-kun."

"Beloved?" Sasuke heard Kakashi repeat very quietly. Sakura gave an embarrassed laugh.

"Shut up, Kakashi," She huffed, "I am not having this conversation with you again."

"Did I say something wrong?" Kakashi asked dryly.

"Only all the time." Sakura gave a _heh_ sound, an oddly sarcastic laugh for a girl like her.

Sasuke rolled over very slowly, using his perfect muscle control to move over the planks of wood without making a noise. His ear brushed against the flaking, sand-coloured wood and he listened hard.

From what he could see from outside of the wagon, it was a beautifully sunny day. He watched the soft dirt road shrink in the distance in silence as none of the others spoke. Cicadas were singing. They reached a hill and whatever was pulling the wagon did so very gently, so he wasn't bumped or jerked around at all. He wondered if this had been done on purpose.

They reached the peak of the incline and Sasuke felt his stomach swoop a little as the wagon slipped down again to ground level. He waited, still listening, wanting that touch of familiarity he felt whenever these ghosts of his childhood spoke.

"I think we are very close now," Rock Lee said. He had challenged Sasuke once and he had been pleased to have a warm up before the real matches began. Like Naruto, he'd assumed that this freak with the eyebrows and the bowl cut would make for an easy win, but he had been proven very, very wrong.

So wrong in fact, that he had been spooked, falling with no inclination of saving himself or even softening the fall, Itachi's voice going through his mind, _live and grow stronger_, and yet this freak with no jutsu was beating him and then –

Sakura had caught him. Had landed on her knees with a little, delicate _oof_ sound, him in her arms.

"We are." Kakashi drawled, his lazy tones unchanged by the years. Sasuke had been thoroughly unimpressed with the teacher after he had fallen for Naruto's childish prank, but he had turned out to be far more dangerous than he had seemed…

"Naruto's going to be so pleased." Sakura said cheerfully, her footsteps light and quick next to Sasuke's ear.

What had been his first impression of Sakura? Annoying. Too loud. She had not gone on to change his mind.

She had always been on the periphery of his mind, his priorities, his memories. Always cheering him on from the sidelines, watching him leave, watching him and Naruto fight…

Until that night, he had thought of her as an annoyance and a weak one at that.

He had needed a new sword after encountering the new Sakura, the one with super strength and a backbone.

"Any other Hokage would see this as the political headache that it really is," Kakashi said wryly, "But Naruto will probably throw a party."

Hokage?

Naruto was Hokage?

Sasuke let out a quiet, amused breath. The dobe had managed to achieve his dream.

Sasuke had turned his back on his own dream.

Throughout their childhood, Sasuke had been better. He had been superior in every single area. He was popular, talented, focused on his goal and destined to succeed. Naruto had been despised by the entire village. He was unable to produce a single viable bunshin. His dream was impossible.

Now look at them.

He wondered at what point Naruto's dream had stopped being impossible.

How much had changed since he had left?

xxxxxxxx

"A messenger hawk arrived for you, Hokage-sama," Hinata bowed deeply, a small scroll in her hands with Konoha's code for _urgent_ stamped on the front, "It looks as though the hawk came from a long distance."

Naruto didn't immediately jump up and snatch the scroll from her hands like he wanted, because that wouldn't be very Hokage-like at all. He did, however, yelp and spill his water down himself.

Hinata looked shocked momentarily, then rushed to his side where he was cursing, brushing himself down.

"No, um, allow me, Hokage-sama." She said timidly, pressing her fingers together in a hand seal, the scroll safely deposited onto the desk.

Naruto was about to wave it off when he noticed the determined set of her mouth, the narrowed eyes, and he sat back easily enough, willing to give her a chance.

She muttered something under her breath and released a careful flare of chakra. Naruto felt his clothes warm up to a comfortable temperature, lightly steaming.

"Oh, thanks Hinata-chan!" He grinned, snatching up the scroll happily and breaking the seal.

"It's a new jutsu I learned…" Hinata said quietly, flushing.

"Yes! It's from Kakashi-sensei! Huh?" Naruto fell silent, bright blue eyes scanning the coded words hastily.

"I practised a lot…" Hinata bit her lip.

"Huh! Ah!" Naruto shouted, holding the scroll aloft, "Hinata-chan! They – they… They found Sasuke!"

Hinata blinked in surprise.

Naruto threw the scroll down and started to dance happily in his Hokage robes, "They did it they _did_ it they DID IT!"

Hinata glanced at the scroll. She caught words like '_hiding out,' 'came without incident,' 'on route back.'_

"But… but… Hokage-sama…"

He turned around at her voice and grinned right in her face, oblivious to her blush. He seized her hands and started to dance around his office with her, his joy infectious. Hinata smiled and laughed out loud, her hands tingling where he held them.

Naruto had tears in his eyes.

"Oh?" He paused, considering something. His expression changed so abruptly that Hinata let go of his hands in shock, "Ah! This is… This is the _worst possible time for this to happen!_"

"Oh…" Hinata said, looking at Naruto's desk where he'd left several reports and papers scattered. Uchiha Itachi's photo peeked out from beneath a case file, "Because of that… I see… Sasuke-san might…"

Naruto let out a groan, holding his head as if in pain, "What should I do? What should I do, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata pulled out the photo and gazed at it. Itachi was a handsome man, but Hinata had never thought much of the cold attractiveness others claimed to love about the Uchiha clan. Besides, she tilted her head to read the notes that came with the picture, he was a murderer.

"You are going to have to have a long chat with Sasuke-san," She said, "And explain everything."

"Argh, this sucks…"

"I don't know," Hinata gave a fond chuckle, gazing at Naruto's downcast expression, "I think it might be good for both of you. You haven't had a chance to speak with him properly for so long, after all."

Naruto blinked. His grin returned, "Hinata-chan! I used to think you were gloomy and so negative, but now I see you're a very cheerful person!"

Hinata was startled, "Ah, I don't know…"

"It's nice!" Naruto declared, smiling brightly.

Hinata felt her chest tighten painfully, and managed to smile in return, "T-thank you, Hokage-sama…"

"OK! If I'm going to see Sasuke again soon, I'm gonna need lots of ramen for energy! I'm taking the rest of the day off, Hinata-chan!"

"E-eh?!"

xxxxxxxx

The wagon stopped, wheels crunching to a halt. The smell of meat cooking drifted on the air, he could hear fat bubbling and spitting next to him, could sense a crowd of civilians all around him. The sky was dark blue, the moon hanging heavy over the village.

There was a tree nearby, with low hanging branches. The leaves rustled, a sound as familiar as his own breath.

This was where he had been born, where he had been raised and where he had run away.

Konoha.

" – can we risk it?" Sakura's voice pierced the silence, louder than the rustling leaves, the spitting fat, "To move him now, with so many people around?"

"It shouldn't be a problem. This close to the Hokage Tower, Anbu will be posted around. We should be covered from every angle." Kakashi said quietly, his voice barely audible.

"Even so, I'd like to make sure he's not in –"

"Sakura, he will be fine. Just help Lee get him out without making a sound," Kakashi murmured, a light slap of a hand against a shoulder, or back, Sasuke couldn't tell, "Alright! Time to unload the baggage!" He said loudly, sounding as though he was amused.

"Baggage away sir!" Lee said promptly.

Sasuke was confused by what he meant until a pair of strong hands gripped him and pulled him smoothly from the back of the wagon.

Lee passed him into Sakura's arms without her having to say a word. Sasuke shifted uncomfortably, embarrassed and worried he would be too heavy for her, but her muscles didn't even shift under his weight and – oh, she was stronger than she looked. He somehow kept forgetting that.

Sakura didn't look at him.

"Well," Kakashi's eye crinkled, "Welcome back, Sasuke."

"It was an honour to assist on this mission!" Lee declared.

"I really think we can untie him now." Sakura said, Sasuke feeling every word vibrate through him, his ear pressed against her chest. He squirmed slightly, hating being so close to someone with no way of moving away.

Kakashi just shrugged, moving out of Sasuke's line of sight. Rock Lee's bandaged hand flashed across Sasuke's face and he felt Sakura's grip tighten.

"No, I can do it Lee. It's fine."

Sakura carefully carried him a few steps, still looking straight ahead, anywhere but at him. Sasuke watched her face, noted the bags under eyes, her skin's pallor.

Then she bent down and he shifted in her grip, rolling slightly onto cold stone – a bench, maybe, and some thick strands of hair fell into his eyes. He shook his head as much as he could, irritated.

Sakura's cool fingers brushed the hair aside. She looked away from his searching gaze, looked up at the moon and gave a heartfelt sigh.

A breeze made her close her eyes, a hand smoothing her hair back, clothes rippling. It sounded as though the leaves were whispering all around them as the wind picked up.

The moonlight bathed Konoha in a milky glow, the stalls cast in an eerie light, the roasted meat glistening on the spit. Sasuke looked away, finding Sakura's intent gaze on his face.

"I'm going to untie you." Sakura said, brandishing a kunai, "So don't make any sudden moves, or you might lose a finger and I've not reattached one in a while, it might not take."

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes as she came at him, sharpened metal glinting in her fist.

She sliced neatly through the chakra strings and then placed one finger on his chest, winding the rest of the glowing strings onto the other hand. Lee came up and held some of the severed strings up for her.

"Thanks," She muttered, chakra flaring strongly. The strings began to reform where they had been cut.

Out of curiosity, Sasuke tried to rise. Nothing. The finger on his chest was as unyielding as a rock. He peered through the gloom and saw a faint haze of blue chakra around her hand.

Sakura tightened the strings, winding them up again and again until they were coiled in her hand. She slipped the coil over Sasuke's wrists, Lee tightening them with a pull. A final flicker of chakra and they were sealed. Sasuke wouldn't be able to free his hands without his chakra, and Kakashi had sealed it all away after that idiot Lee knocked him out, and the strings would leech any chakra he managed to regenerate.

"Can you stand?" Sakura asked, so close to his face that all he could see was her concerned features, the tightened brow, the hard line of a frown.

He drew back his head and sat up, testing his legs.

He stood without a word, feeling blood immediately rush to his feet. He stayed standing with a considerable amount of effort.

"Good," Kakashi said cheerily, "Because there's someone who has been dying to see you for a long time."

Sasuke took a step and stumbled. Sakura immediately caught his elbow, already turning away and saying, "Lee, could you get rid of the wagon please? Thanks."

Sakura linked her arm in his and met his eyes intentionally for the first time since their fight. She smiled, her gaze softening. He wondered what she saw in him that made her look at him with such tender eyes.

"Come on," She said softly, "Naruto's waiting."

Kakashi came to stand on his left, hands in pockets, consistently casual as always, but his own hand slid out and around Sasuke's other elbow without saying a word.

Sasuke closed his eyes, suddenly exhausted, and allowed the two of them to lead him on.

xxxxxxxx

Naruto sat at his desk, foot jiggling with nervous energy. Ever since he'd been restricted to the desk he had lost all opportunities for exercise, even a casual walk, and thus found himself practically jumping up and down in his seat at the end of a particularly dull day.

Hinata had gone off somewhere, presumably to do something.

Naruto sighed, drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. Tsunade had never bothered to warn him that being Hokage was the most boring job in the world. _Farmers_ saw more action then he did. _Scribes_.

He had gone home, ate copious bowls of ramen, danced around for a while, and then started to itch when he thought about all the paperwork he had to do. It didn't take long before he was hauling the robes back on and tripping back to his office

He pulled out the picture of Itachi and gazed at it. His face was so familiar to Naruto, and yet subtly different from the one Naruto knew. While he and Sasuke shared facial features, Itachi looked older, sharper, crueller…

He should have gone home by now. He could be sleeping in his bed right at this second, not a care in the world, happily oblivious to the Anbu guards watching him sleep… It had been a happy discovery indeed that he slept like the dead and had no idea elite ninja were prowling on his rooftop.

Kiba, his temporary bodyguard, had already gone home, shouting something about drinks with Shino.

Naruto gazed at his desk, his nail peeling the paint away slightly, and thought sadly, I could destroy this desk with my little finger.

"I'm so wasted here." He groaned aloud, leg jiggling up and down in boredom.

A quiet rap at the door nearly made him fall out of his seat.

"Oh, Hinata-chan?" He called out.

Silence.

Naruto frowned, standing up without a sound. He moved away from the door, kunai flicking out from his long sleeves after he lightly touched his palms.

He strained his ears, and caught a hissed conversation outside the door. Kakashi's voice. Kakashi.

Naruto dropped his kunai.

"It's me, Sakura," She called through the wood, "I'm coming in. Just to warn you –"

The door slid open just as Naruto dove across the desk and turned his lamp on, bathing half the room in light, the other still cast in shadow.

" – You have a visitor." She finished, coming into the room, her hand curled around –

Naruto blinked, tears blurring his vision.

"Aw crap," He muttered, whirling around to scrub at his eyes with his sleeves, "Crap, crap, crap!"

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, sounding concerned.

Naruto hunched over, tears still falling.

He turned around, wiping his face, hardly daring to look.

Sasuke stood between Kakashi and Sakura. He looked thin and dead on his feet, but he wasn't dead he was alive, _alive_!

Naruto threw his robes off, his hat flying over the lampshade, and he rocketed forward.

Sasuke tensed, his bound hands coming up to his chest in a defensive position.

Naruto punched him in the face, growling, "Teme… you got taller!"

Sasuke looked shocked, the side of his face immediately flushing red and swelling up.

Naruto yanked him into a hug.

"Cry baby." Sakura sniffed, wiping her eyes and smiling fondly at the two of them.

Kakashi gently separated the Hokage and his ex-teammate.

"C'mon now, Naruto, he's pretty exhausted…"

Sasuke wrenched himself away, hitting the wall in his hasty retreat. Sakura reached out and steadied him automatically.

Naruto gazed at Sasuke expectantly, grinning wildly. He was older, Sasuke thought, his face longer and thinner. He didn't look as stupid in the robes as he should have done.

"Sasuke," Naruto didn't bother to wipe away his tears this time, just carried on grinning aimlessly at him, "I'm glad you're back."

Sasuke stared at him, muscles tense, half his face on fire from the hit he'd taken earlier.

"…Dobe," He said finally, Kakashi giving his shoulder a little warning squeeze, "They couldn't find anyone else to be Hokage?"

"No one as good as me in the whole village," Naruto boasted, his eyes dancing with mirth, "The only guy who could match me ran off to the Land of Spring to play with the flowers."

"Then Konoha's sorely lacking in talented ninja." Sasuke replied automatically, finding the disdainful response came surprisingly naturally to him.

Naruto let out a bark of laughter, "I've missed you, bastard! Kakashi-sensei – er, Kakashi will show you to your room, I've set up a temporary apartment just in case and it's in your name –"

"No."

Naruto's smile wavered, "What?"

"I will stay in my house."

"The… the manor?" Sakura ventured, giving him a frustratingly worried look. What was she worried about?

Sasuke didn't bother to reply if only to state the obvious.

Naruto gave Sasuke an oddly shrewd look, blue eyes flashing across his face, "OK," He said slowly, "OK. Hinata will disable your chakra system until I say otherwise. You will live under constant Anbu watch. You don't leave the village. You don't do anything without okaying it with your guards. You don't talk to anyone who hasn't been cleared by your guards. You will not be permitted to train or fight. You will not be permitted to _watch_ anyone train or fight. Certain people such as Sakura, myself and Kakashi, may visit you at any given time. And you will not be taken to see your brother if you break a single one of these rules."

For a long, tense moment, Sasuke just stared at Naruto incredulously, his entire expression just screaming, _this is Naruto?_

"Kakashi," Naruto pointed out the door, "Take Sasuke to Hinata, explain to her what she needs to do and then take him to the Uchiha Compound. I'm guessing you know what to do from there."

Kakashi gave a nod and grabbed Sasuke's shoulder, lightly nudging him forward out of the room.

Sakura remained in the office, smiling at Naruto, "Can you believe it, he's back! We just need to –"

"Bad news," He cut in, "Well, er, good news. I guess. You might want to sit down."

Sakura's heart sank. She sat down in the chair opposite Naruto's and waited. She knew something would come along to destroy the high she felt from Sasuke's return, she just hadn't anticipated it would come this quickly.

Naruto sat down opposite her, his gaze solemn.

"OK, I'll get right to it. Uchiha Itachi has been cleared of all charges of any crime he has been proven to have committed or been accused of since he joined the shinobi forces."

Sakura felt the ground drop from beneath her, her stomach lurching drunkenly. She gripped the table for purchase, her mind swimming in confusion.

"What?" She gasped, "I don't…"

"He was a double agent. For us. The Uchiha massacre was ordered by the Sandaime. He joined Akatsuki as our spy. The moment the Council found out we had sent you to retrieve Sasuke, they knew the truth would come out, so they told me in private. I obviously absolved all of his crimes straightaway."

Sakura shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

"Does… does Sasuke know?"

"No. He will. Itachi is _innocent_, Sakura. This is the best news Sasuke could have ever had, and it's come years too late."

* * *

The plot thickens.

Sorry about the long wait.

Next chapter should have lots of Sakura actually acting like a shinobi. I don't write that very often :)

I was giggling writing Naruto's hilariously overblown reaction to Sasuke's return, could you tell?

**Quick poll for fun: **What's your favourite chapter/episode of Naruto and why?

No suggestions.


	8. Stormy Villages, Familiar Loss

Itachi sat, unbound, chin resting on his feet, seemingly deep in thought.

Sakura smoothly took the seat opposite him, her face carefully blank.

He looked up.

"You've been keeping secrets." Sakura said, jumping straight into the conversation without any greetings or pleasantries.

Itachi's playful demeanour was gone. He studied her with half-lidded eyes, looking bored. "All my life." He agreed.

"Why did you surrender to Konoha? Why didn't you reveal the truth? Did you want to be detained? Who are you loyal to?"

Itachi's mouth flickered, one corner twitching upward very briefly.

"One," He counted, holding up a finger, "I came home to observe you and your relationship with my brother. Two, who would I reveal the truth to? Who would believe me? I came here and waited for the truth to be exposed, or for the Council to cover themselves by ordering my death. I was curious. Three, I believe I've explained this already. Four, Konoha, as always and forever."

"Why did you want to observe me my relationship with Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"We met. Sasuke and I. A complete accident, we were in the same forest at the time. I sensed him coming, and I allowed it. Since killing our family, I have long awaited the day where Sasuke would take his vengeance… and redeem the clan. But… he refused. We spoke for a while, I lied a bit and he got angry. But he would not fight me. 'I don't want to be your tool,' he said to me, 'Either kill me here like you should have done years ago, or let me leave. I want nothing to do with your plans.' Of course, I could never kill my brother so I let him go. But there was something he had said that intrigued me. I asked what changed his mind, since he was so determined to kill me just a few years ago. He refused to tell me at first, but eventually your name came up."

"Me?" Sakura frowned. She had convinced Sasuke not to kill Itachi?

"He wouldn't say more than, 'Haruno Sakura isn't and will never be special.' He was lying to keep you safe, I imagine, believing I was out to kill all he loved. Don't look so surprised. Sasuke had always kept his feelings to himself, I have since gathered. I wanted to see the person who had changed his mind, the spanner in the works. I've been planning my own death for quite a while, you see, but you changed things."

"I can't apologise," Sakura said unrepentantly, "You should never have told a child to live for revenge. You ruined his life."

"I had already ruined his life. He saw his family dead at my hands. I have… the means in which to die, but no death wish. I was not trying to force him to assist my suicide. I took the role of _murderer_ to spare my clan's shame, to keep the Uchiha name being soiled. In death, they became heroes to the village, and no one would ever suspect that they had once planned a coup against Konoha. Sasuke would kill me, avenging the clan, and be hailed as a hero."

"I imagine your plan was spoiled," Sakura said dryly, looking at the man with intense dislike, "when Sasuke followed in your footsteps and betrayed his village, all in the name of revenge. Konoha does not consider him a hero, and they still wouldn't, even if he had killed you."

"True. I was not pleased to learn he had joined Orochimaru. I wanted him to grow stronger, after all. That snake could only cripple his progress."

"I want, I want," Sakura mocked, anger coiled in her stomach, ready to flare, "You were happy, then, to be the one to cripple his life? To rob him of his childhood? He devoted his life to getting stronger. He pushed everyone close to him away. He betrayed us. He nearly killed his best friend, _my_ best friend, all in the name of your ridiculous plan to make him a hero! Why couldn't you have just fallen on your sword like a _decent_ martyr? You seem so concerned with what _you_ want," She thought of Sasuke's thinness, his death wish, waiting alone for Naruto in a far-off, snowy part of the world, and her anger soared gloriously. She reached across the table and grabbed Itachi's white shirt, yanking him forwards. His face was pulled close to hers, bare of expression, no surprise in his features.

She could feel his breath gently touching her mouth, "Did you ever think you were causing so many people irreparable harm? That your noble schemes to make heroes of your family were not actually wanted or needed? The Uchiha clan plotted against Konoha and the truth will be revealed."

She had expected Tenten to dash in the moment she yanked Itachi out of his chair, but nothing happened. Perhaps Itachi was free to defend himself, should he wish it.

She could feel his chakra quietly simmering beneath the surface. It was powerful, one of the strongest chakra she had ever felt. The absolute strongest had been Naruto, infused with the Kyuubi's power.

For the first time, she saw him grow angry. His gaze was searing, red flickering through the dark eyes, a warning. She swallowed, his eyes flickering down to her throat to catch the movement reflexively.

"No." He said, "I do not want that. The clan should not –"

"The trouble is," Sakura said, dropping him back into his chair, "Not everything revolves what you want. No more lies. You will leave your cell and live wherever Naruto puts you –"

"I – I will –" He cut himself off, looking uncharacteristically frustrated. Did he not plan for this? The truth coming out? "I won't have anything to do… with the Uchiha Compound. I have no right to be there."

"I think Sasuke-kun will want to stay in the Compound anyway, so it's probably for the best you avoid it." Sakura said, carefully watching his face for his reaction.

He stiffened, hands stilling halfway into fists at his sides, his expression stunned.

He slowly looked up, a deep crease between his frowning brows, "Sasuke is in Konoha."

"He came willingly, when we told him you were here. I assumed he wanted to kill you, but if he already had the chance…"

"He will want answers." Itachi looked a little sick, his skin pale, "It will not be easy, telling him."

"Yes, well, you owe him an explanation at the very least. And you will have to see him before you are rehomed. Have to make sure you can walk around the village without him screaming death threats and frightening the locals." Sakura gave a frustrated sigh, massaging her brow, beginning to feel a dull throbbing in her temples. It was never simple, was it? "Well, I'm sure Naruto will think of something. If not, then… you wouldn't object to this," She gestured vaguely, indicating the building, "being your new home? Familiar, at least."

"Amusing." Itachi said tonelessly, "Can you not think of –"

"I don't have time for this," Sakura muttered, thinking of all the packing she had to do back home, and then there was making sure Lee knew how exactly to take care of Yuki, and she had some bills to pay, and she'd have to juggle her shifts at the hospital around… "I have to go."

"What?" Itachi tilted his head, eyes curious, "Where do you have to be?"

"I have a mission. I trust you will cooperate with someone other than me now that you've… _assessed_ my relationship with Sasuke-kun?"

Itachi smirked at that and looked away to the corner of the room, "I hope it isn't _dangerous._"

"I know you've been out of practice for a while, but missions typically _are_ dangerous." Sakura crossed her arms, feeling a little underestimated.

"You do realise I have completed hundreds of missions in my lifetime?" Itachi raised his eyebrows at the wall, his mouth curved into a pleasant smile. Sakura shook herself mentally and tore her eyes away.

Don't fall into his trap, she chided herself. He _wants_ you to banter with him. Banter leads to camaraderie. Camaraderie leads to friendship. Friendship with Uchiha Itachi could only ever lead to pain, anguish and misfortune. And Sasuke certainly wouldn't be pleased.

"Right!" She said briskly, startling him into turning around and giving her another curious raise of the eyebrows, "I'm going. Try to behave yourself. Please?"

"Yes, Mother." Itachi replied dully.

"Oh my God, no," Sakura said, horrified, unthinking, "Don't ever call me that!"

Itachi gave a low chuckle, a glimpse of white teeth showing with another genuinely amused smile, "Well, try to be less motherly and I will consider lowering you back to your true chuunin status."

She glowered at him. Only Itachi could manage to slip that familiar chuunin dig into a random comment.

"I," She gritted out every word between clenched teeth, standing up, "am. A. Chuunin. By. _Choice."_

"Yes, that seems to be the case." Itachi nodded, smiling blandly, his expression faux-innocent.

Letting out a wordless screech of exasperation, Sakura threw her hands into the air and whirled around, yanking the door open, hissing, "You are free to _leave_, Uchiha-san!"

She charged down the hall, ignoring Tenten's amused comment of, "Lover's tiff?"

She got halfway to the exit when she heard Itachi's voice.

"Good luck, Mother. I'll miss you."

Her infuriated scream echoed through the hall, along with the door she slammed behind her.

xxxxxxxx

Her uncle was her last living relative.

She was reminded of this every morning when she awoke in her parents' bed, confused and filled with a sense of something not being right, something she felt every morning ever since she had first climbed under the covers, sobbing too hard to breathe properly, shuddering for hours until she finally fell asleep.

They died in the invasion, casualties. They went looking for Sakura, refused to be evacuated with the other civilians. They had never taken her job seriously, could never think of her as a soldier. She was their daughter.

They didn't last ten minutes in the warzone the village had turned into.

She was told it was quick.

In the tent hastily set up next to a crumbling wreck of a building, Sakura had been held back, prevented from entering any further. All she could see was her mother's wrist hanging over the side of a bed, her father's clothing neatly piled in the corner.

Though they held her back from the medical tent, they could not hold her back from returning the battlefield.

Even Naruto had stood back in awe that day. She did not fight like herself. She had been fierce, ruthless and _amazing._ She had fought until she found herself left without anyone left to fight, and had not a shred of guilt afterwards. That came later. But then, in that moment, she was triumphant.

And now her uncle was missing.

She didn't know him that well. He lived in the village of Arashi, not too far away, but enough that visits were infrequent and often unplanned. Her family had never come to his village, he had always showed up on birthdays or anniversaries with a small smile and a token gift. He was her father's brother. When he heard that she had lost her parents he immediately came over and stayed with her until she felt well enough to be alone. In truth, seeing how his own grief shattered him made her feel worse, so it had come as a relief when he had waved goodbye and hitched a ride home with a passing merchant.

But he had her hair, and she was always told that her short temper came from him. Family, to Sakura, was like different parts of yourself wandering around. Someone you could look at and see yourself reflected in them. She didn't want to lose that completely.

Burying her concern over the Uchiha brothers, she hauled her bag more securely over her shoulder and trudged on, Arashi now just a few steps away.

It was a cloudy, dreary day and it looked as though rain was coming. She gave a sigh, smoothing down her hair with her free hand.

Curiously enough, Arashi had two guards posted right outside their closed gate. It gave a distinct feeling of hostility, and Sakura felt a chill go through her at the sight. A few drops of rain spotted the ground, darkening the soil in patches, and she shivered again.

"Ho there," One of the men posted at the gate called as she approached, light eyes passing over her in a way that was not entirely professional, "What brings you here?"

Arashi, Naruto had told her, was a bit of a mystery. It had grown suspiciously quiet in recent years, no one visits and no one leaves.

Sakura steeled herself, pasting on her most charming smile. Time to put on a new face.

"I'm from Konoha," She said sweetly, pointing to her hitae-ate and slowly opening her hands to indicate she was unarmed. The stiff, defensive postures of the guards relaxed a little, "The lord Hokage sent me to assess the amount of damage done to the village, to see what I could do."

Luckily, Nishimura Daiki, the lord of Arashi, had been writing to request Naruto's help for a while now, giving her the perfect excuse to check out the village.

"Oh," The guard completely relaxed at that, "I see. Took your time. Look at that –" He pointed at the top of the wooden, spiked fence around the village. Many parts of it were blackened and scorched, holes in places, " – it takes _daily_ repairs to keep this fence secure and we have to have shinobi come do their jutsu stuff to stop the storms getting too bad. They come a long way for it, too. Farther than Konoha, that's for sure –"

"Oh, I'm sorry it's been so rough," Sakura interrupted, smiling sympathetically, "Do you not have shinobi in the village?"

He gave a rough, incredulous laugh, "No, we ain't like you big villages. Keep out of trouble. Lord Daiki sees to that."

"I understand," She nodded, "but things must be bad here. This area is prone to storms, isn't it?"

"Yeah," He agreed, expression darkening, "It ain't natural. We'd leave but… this is our home. Bit of thunder and lightning -" torrential rain suddenly began to pour from the sky, " – and rain ain't gonna shift us."

"That's admirable," She tried to smile, getting soaked, "Do you mind if I enter the village now?"

Well done, she thought waspishly as the guard frowned, full marks for charm.

The guard exchanged a glance with his fellow, who, after a long pause, nodded.

"Right, no problem. I'll escort you to Lord Daiki, if you don't mind." He gave a shout to whoever was manning the gate. An answering shout rang out in the air and the gate began to lift, the wood slick from the rain.

"Thank you." She smiled brightly, turning her charm on full blast. He smiled back, flicking a glance at his fellow guard that was more knowing than suspicious, and she could have pumped her fist in triumph. It had been a while since a man had reacted to her in any manner other than, "Thanks for the bandage, do I have to pay for the medical supplies," or "Here's your change," or even, "Argh, you bitch, that was my eye!"

It was sad that her interactions with the male sex mostly involved seeing to her patients or killing people. Or Kakashi climbing in her window because he's having another mid-life crisis and he wants her advice. Or Naruto clumsily suggesting they should go on a date, seemingly blind to Hinata's look of absolute despair right behind him.

It was good to know that in a pinch, she could still have a bit of a flirt.

Useful skill, that. It had saved her life before.

She followed the guard into the village of Arashi as the gate lifted enough for them to safely walk under, wondering exactly what had happened to her uncle.

Arashi was a small village, small enough to walk around comfortably. The buildings were all made from the same type of wood, varnished and cheap-looking. She could tell the buildings were made to be easily disassembled, there was nothing above two floors high and the wood was thin and slotted together expertly. It was a temporary solution. Nothing damaged in the storm was irreplaceable.

Sakura and the guard walked down the main path of the village for a while, enough time for Sakura to examine her surroundings and come to an uncomfortable conclusion.

There was no litter. The few people that were out of their houses didn't stay on the streets long, hurrying off the moment Sakura and the guard approached. She noticed more guards milling about than civilians.

They passed a small, crooked-looking building that smelt strongly of fish and something caught Sakura's eye, halting her.

A young boy stood in the alley, his face grubby with both dirt and blood. His eyes were watery, too big for his face. His hands were buried in the folds of the off-white shirt that swamped his thin frame, elbows trembling in a way that suggested cold.

Sakura bent down, forgetting the guard next to her, and gave the boy a big smile. He blinked rapidly, tripping backwards, suddenly fearful.

"Do you need help?" Sakura asked quietly, reaching for the boy's arm, meaning to comfort. He ripped it away, yelling in fright before tearing off down the alleyway.

As he ripped his arm away from her, Sakura's sharp eyes caught blood and bone, missing fingers, a fresh wound.

"Thieves everywhere." The guard said disdainfully, "We have a deterrent that stops them reoffending, though. Come this way, we're almost there."

"You cut off fingers as punishment for stealing?" Sakura stared the man down, her eyes hard. He looked away, mouth working soundlessly.

"We – Well, that's the way things are done in successful villages."

"Of course," Sakura gave him a smile, mentally reciting every lesson she had ever learned on how to inflict pain slowly, "I fear Konoha is a little soft with its punishments in comparison."

The guard relaxed, smiling back stupidly, "You never know, this new Hokage may be tougher."

The lord's home was obvious, the only building not made out of cheap wood and taller than the rest put together. As they got closer, Sakura noticed the building was slick from something, and not just the rain. An amber-coloured liquid oozed down the sides of Daiki's home.

She pointed it out to the guard, who squinted through the rain and nodded. "That's the gel Lord Daiki had imported over. It's supposed to protect the building from weather damage. It's worked so far."

"Why don't you use it on any other buildings?"

He looked sheepish, "It's very expensive."

Sakura turned her head away and pursed her lips in displeasure, "I see."

xxxxxxxx

Nishimura Daiki was a short man.

Taller than her, but still, shorter than your average man.

He turned around to receive her, arms wide in welcome, smiling politely, "Sakura-san, is it not? Lovely to have you here. So, the good Hokage finally got his act together and sent someone to help, hm?" He chuckled, "Just my little joke. I'm very grateful for any assistance you can provide."

"It looks as though, aside from the weather issue, that Arashi is a well-run village," Sakura said cheerily, bowing deeply, "I was just hearing from one of the guards how low the crime rate is here. Konoha has a particular problem with pickpockets."

"We don't tolerate deviance in this town. Perhaps when Konoha lends some bodies for the work done to the village, we will teach them how to keep crime down."

"That would be much appreciated." Sakura smiled amiably.

"You have a good attitude, Sakura-san. You're welcome to stay the night in one of our hotels, if you like. The road may be dangerous at night. Have you found what you were looking for?"

Oh yes, Sakura thought, frightened locals, harsh punishments, unequal treatment between the rich and poor. She was beginning to build up a picture of what had happened to her uncle.

"Yes, I have. I'll write up a report tonight for the Hokage to read and he will decide the best course of action from there. I'm certain he will be very interested in helping restore and maintain Arashi."

This seemed to please the lord. He sat down at his desk, smiling to himself, shuffling through some papers. Sakura took it as her cue to leave.

En route to the hotel, Sakura idly walked passed her uncle's house, making no outward sign of recognition. It looked as though it hadn't been touched in months. Dust layered the windows an inch thick from the inside and two souring bottles of milk lay on their sides in the front guarden.

Sakura continued to walk on, smiling, thinking to herself just how careless this lord must be, how new to the tyrant game he appeared.

Rule number one of making people disappear, make sure they don't have any shinobi relatives who will do anything to avenge them.

xxxxxxxx

Sasuke brushed a finger along the surface of the old desk. Dust and grime clung to his fingertip. He grimaced, wiping his hand on his side, walking out of the room and down the hall.

Someone, a long time ago, had made an attempt to clean the house up. They had done a fairly good job. The carpets had all been stripped away, probably burned. Anything useful or valuable was gone, either confiscated by the government or taken by opportunistic looters.

Sasuke stepped into his parents' room, breathing the stench of decay and rot.

After a long time spent tracing his eyes over the furniture again and again, he lay down on the dusty floor in the space where the bed used to be, wondering who had stolen it and how. A white sheet was screwed up in the corner. He hooked it with his foot and dragged it over himself, feeling as close to his parents as possible.

Itachi was in Konoha. He had surrendered. Sakura was in charge of interrogating him.

It couldn't be a coincidence.

"Haruno Sakura, hm?" Itachi had mused, scarlet eyes capable of piercing through any façade of nonchalance Sasuke could throw up. He had stood, fists clenched, filled with a sense of fury and thinking _not this time._ Itachi had tried to kill Naruto all those years ago. Sasuke would not throw Sakura in his path.

"She isn't special and she never will be," Sasuke had said, "She just helped me realise that following your orders is the last thing I want to do."

"Not special?" Itachi had tilted his head, "I wonder…"

Sasuke clenched the sheet and tried to settle his heartbeat. The window was broken and poorly-boarded up, so a chill drifted through the room. He could see stars through the gaps in the wood.

He closed his eyes and wished for sleep.

* * *

Long break between chapters again, I know! I apologise :( At least it can sometimes build the suspense?

I recently finished watching a very cheerful, slice of life anime series, which made me feel super happy! It was difficult trying to write this after watching it, which is probably why the first half of the chapter is sort of funny whereas the rest is darker after the high wore off XD

My apologies, I said Sakura would be more of a shinobi in this chapter but I had to cut the chapter off there :S The next chapter should bring at least _some_ awesomeness. Sakura may have neglected her shinobi training, but even a shinobi out of practice can make a huge difference in a village of civilians. Especially if her last living relative is in danger.

Things that _should_ happen in the next chapter or two – Sasuke begins life in Konoha anew and rediscovers his home, Itachi struggles with his new status, Sakura finds herself humiliated and gets a very unsavoury offer.

I don't like Sasuke.

But I'm trying to write him fairly. I don't wanna demonise him anymore than Kishimoto's already managed in canon, so I want to make him sympathetic, somehow. Hopefully by the end of this story you'll want to give him a hug.

Hope you liked it!

**Quick poll for fun: **What is it you hope to happen in this story?

No suggestions :)


	9. Lonely Crowds, Awful Discovery

It wasn't hard to trick the Anbu squad.

He went one way, doubled back, hid for an hour, went another way, doubled back again and eventually slipped through the shadows until he reached his destination.

Sakura's window was easily pried open, if you knew how to apply the exact amount of pressure.

Sasuke slid through the open window and shut it quietly behind him.

He couldn't feel any chakra around or hear any breathing. Either Sakura was out, or she was dead.

After a quick but thorough search, he determined it was the former. He felt frustrated. Sakura was the only person in the village who would want to talk to him at this hour. Naruto would either be busy or too difficult to get to, now he was the single most important person in the whole village.

In his youth, he had just wanted to be left alone. All of the sympathetic looks from strangers, the sweets pressed into his hands by old women, the giggles of girls his own age, they grated on him. He wanted silence and solitude. He didn't need replacements for his family. He didn't need someone to use him or try to trick him. He just wanted to be left alone.

After he saw Itachi in the forest, he had gained that solitude. He had abandoned his team (the second time he had done so, he realised), and hidden away in the furthest place he could think of. For a while, he had peace. It was a quiet, solitary corner of the world. No missions. No danger. No burdens, people or goals. He didn't even care about training anymore.

But he had reached the point where he didn't seem to care about _anything_ anymore. His life had no meaning. Without his revenge, what was his purpose? To stay alive? What was the use in that? His mother and father's faces swam beneath his eyelids whenever sleep took him and he ached to join them.

Sakura had come for him. The first surprise in a long time. He had always pictured Naruto, alone, fiercely angry and determined, shouting promises and… making things _happen_, the way he always did. Getting a bridge named after him. His face carved on the Hokage Monument.

But no, it was Sakura's voice he had heard first, her light, feminine tones clashing with Rock Lee's bellowing. She was the one who fought him and dragged him back.

He had had enough of the dark, silent manor, the memory-filled streets of the Compound. He pictured Sakura talking quietly, her green eyes, light hair, _familiarity_, and had craved it. The feeling of familiarity not tainted by bad memories. Sakura didn't blame him for anything, he knew, and she had always put him first.

He looked around Sakura's apartment, suddenly interested in his surroundings.

It looked fairly average, white walls, clean surfaces, well stocked bookcases and not much space. He peered at the books. Mostly medical textbooks. A few botanical books. A novel or two, which looked untouched. Probably presents or impulse-buys.

He moved over to the kitchen, walking soundlessly over the tiled floor. An entire work surface and a table here were dedicated to plants. He touched a leaf gently. It was glossy and healthy. The soil in the pot was damp. Sakura clearly loved her plants. He didn't smile, but he did stroke the leaf slowly, thinking.

A sudden noise behind him startled him so badly he threw a kitchen knife from the block on the side, not even pausing to investigate.

The knife sailed past a white cat, who gave him the cat equivalent of an unimpressed sneer in response and idly flicked its tail.

Sasuke felt a twinge of guilt – what if Sakura had returned home to find her cat, dead by his hand? Considering the brightness of the animal's eyes and the glossy quality of its fur, Sasuke decided Sakura cared for the cat just as much as her plants.

He bent down, somewhat hesitant, and extended his hand towards the cat's face. It didn't blink, just stared at his approaching hand and waited. He touched its head lightly, patting it when it didn't jerk away or bite him.

"I'm sorry." He said, watching the cat's eyes become slits in pleasure as he stroked down its back.

"I'm sure Yuki will forgive you eventually." Kakashi's dry voice came from behind.

Sasuke started so badly that the cat leapt away, its tail flicking angrily.

Kakashi leant against the work surface, idly toying with a leaf, "Hey, Sasuke."

"You." Sasuke replied.

"Yeah, let's not get all mushy here, shall we? If you're looking for Sakura, she's away on a mission. Won't be back for a couple of days. And probably won't appreciate you breaking into her flat, fondling her plants and trying to impale her cat."

Why did he make everything sound so…

"What mission." Sasuke demanded flatly, not interested in his ex-teacher's idea of banter.

"A mission." Kakashi shrugged, "I dunno, I don't sneak into her flat and poke around her stuff, it's actually quite difficult for me to know the confidential aspects of her life."

Sasuke turned to leave the way he came, but Kakashi was in front of him, smugly whipping a key out of his pocket and heading for the front door before he could make it two steps.

"You have a key to Sakura's apartment." Sasuke said.

"Indeed I do, she gave it to me a few years back, so I could come in whenever I wanted," Kakashi winked, spinning the key on his finger, "Even at night."

"Insinuate all you want," Sasuke said, shrugging, "You think of her as a daughter. I'm not a fool."

"How surprisingly perceptive of you." Kakashi tilted his head, "I'm a little young to be a daddy, though."

"Naruto is in love with her," Sasuke nearly rolled his eyes, wondering what Kakashi was trying to achieve here, "You wouldn't –"

"No, I wouldn't." Kakashi said, eye burning intensely, words left unsaid – _and neither will you._

Was – was he warning Sasuke off? For Naruto's sake?

Aware of how strange this night had turned out to be, Sasuke took the keys from Kakashi's unresisting hand and unlocked the front door.

As he turned the handle, he hesitated, hand on the door, "Just to be clear," He said quietly, "I have no intention with competing with Naruto for anything anymore. If you are worried about me somehow 'hurting' him –"

"But that's just it," Kakashi said, sounding tired, "It's not Naruto who's going to get hurt." He bent down and stroked the purring cat, "It'll be Sakura. It's always her who gets hurt. Naruto has a second chance for happiness, he just hasn't figured it out yet. But for Sakura… it has always been _you._"

Sasuke closed his eyes, fingers tightening on the handle.

"Can you imagine how much it hurt when you tried to kill her? How she felt? I'm just asking you to be careful with her feelings. But hey, Sasuke. You aren't the only orphan in the room here." Kakashi caught his eye with some difficulty, crossing his arms and smiling under his mask.

Sasuke stared back at him.

"I know how it feels to lose everything and everyone. I know it just as well as you do. I've lived it longer. Right now you've got Naruto, Sakura and me. Must be pretty damn lonely at the moment. But I know a few people who might make you feel a little better…"

xxxxxxxx

He recognised the loud voice yelling from inside the restaurant he and Kakashi draw next to and his steps stuttered to a halt.

He turned wide eyes on Kakashi, wanting to retreat, to get away, but the older man shook his head and gave him a tiny nudge forward.

Sasuke took a breath and pushed the beaded curtain away, walking into the restaurant, his eyes searching the room immediately as he entered.

Karin was leaning against the counter and yelling for Suigetsu to get his money out and pay for her meal already. Suigetsu was smirking and pretending to get annoyed with her demands. Sasuke knew the shark-toothed male lived for Karin's insane rants and slaps. Juugo was staring out of the window, watching a bird fly by with a dazed, happy smile on his face. Sasuke inhaled sharply, taking in the scent of sake and frying pork. Every now and then steam escaped from the kitchen in short bursts. The walls sweated.

Sasuke knew then that his chakra was well and truly sealed up tightly – he had known of course, when he had been led to the very much changed Hyuuga girl, who had gently poked him in vital areas, but now he was presented with proof – if Karin could not sense him from even this short distance, he was powerless.

He heard Kakashi push through the beaded curtain, heard his steps echo on the wooden floor behind him.

Karin looked up at the noise, scowling furiously at something Suigetsu had said.

She stared. The blood drained from her face all at once and her hand dropped down abruptly. Suigetsu, curious, looked around her prone form, spinning around on his stool. His mouth fell open, his sharp teeth glinting in the light. In a few seconds, his shock turned to something altogether more complex and difficult to pin down, his emotions sliding across his face as slickly as water, just as Sasuke grasped their meaning they slipped between his fingers and melted away into something else.

Suigetsu ended up giving a small, tight grin and a nod, "Got caught after all then?"

Karin started visibly at the sound of Suigetsu's voice. She had been staring in complete disbelief until he spoke, then she darted forward, throwing herself into Sasuke, sobbing too hard to form complete sentences, "You… total… b-bastard, Sasuke-kun, leaving me… with… these psychos… for two years I waited… We searched for you…"

Juugo looked away from the bird and stood up, great big legs unfolding under him to support his bulk. He laced his fingers together and gave Sasuke a mildly confused, happy look. "I thought you weren't coming back," He said honestly, "I thought you were dead."

The words hit Sasuke like daggers. Kimimaro had gone away and never came back, leaving Juugo alone with no control over himself. He had done the same.

Karin sniffled into his shoulder, waves of anguish and happiness pouring off of her and mixing in the air, her fingers laced tightly around his neck.

He suffered through the embrace with a barely-there scowl, body stiff and unyielding.

"Just wanted to remind you that you have more friends than you might have thought." Kakashi said lightly from behind, his hand settling on his shoulder.

"Stupid bastard." Karin mumbled, her tears beginning to dry up, "Making me worry so much."

"I'm sorry."

Suigetsu stumbled against the stool he'd been leaning on, doing an awkward dance to regain his balance. He gawped at Sasuke.

Karin drew back, unlacing her fingers from his neck. She stared at him, into his eyes. He could see how the tears had coated her eyelashes.

"You're sorry?" She frowned in confusion, "I mean… you?"

"She means you're normally an uptight jackass who'd never apologise for his mistakes in a million years." Suigetsu explained, his grin back.

Sasuke didn't repeat himself. He stepped back to fix Kakashi with a glare, "Am I supposed to eat here?"

"I highly doubt you've been feeding yourself and, since killing criminals will no longer gain you any money, I figured dinner'd be on me tonight."

"Fried pork for me!" Karin shouted.

"I just want yoghurt." Suigetsu piped up, slurping his drink loudly.

"Sashimi, please." Juugo said with a hesitant smile.

"…Uh," Kakashi said, pulling his wallet out and peering into it dubiously, "Sure?"

Suigetsu and Karin cheered loudly.

xxxxxxxx

A maid entered the room.

Haruno Sakura lay asleep in bed, mouth slightly open, hair rumpled. The maid crept closer. She listened intently at the side of the bed, crouched down. Sakura's breathing was slow and steady. She was deeply asleep.

The maid turned her attention to the pack the foreign woman had brought, lying on its side on the floor. She went through its contents slowly and silently, taking out papers and studying them carefully, squinting in the dark. They appeared to be plans to improve Arashi, with the Rokudaime's signature at the bottom.

The maid replaced the contents and straightened up, looking at Sakura. After a beat, she slid out of the room.

Sakura opened her eyes.

_Idiot,_ she thought. _As if I'd leave incriminating evidence in my bag._

It seemed Arashi didn't completely trust her story. They would now, with evidence to support it. It was her idea to mock up some plans to improve the conditions of the village, just in case.

The next morning, she was summoned to Lord Daiki's side.

"Ah!" He smiled upon seeing her, "Sakura-chan! Come, I was just telling my aide about you. Would you mind giving us all a demonstration of your gifts?"

The room was full of people staring at her curiously, as though she was a rare exotic beast brought in for their entertainment.

Sakura gave Daiki the most sincere smile she could muster, then placed the room under genjutsu.

The people gasped, stunned by the sight of exploding fireworks indoors, flowers slowly revolving in the air, snow seeming to fall from the ceiling.

Minor illusions, but they certainly seemed to please the people.

"Wasn't that something!" Daiki said excitedly, "Shinobi have such wonderful talents."

"Make more flowers!" A woman demanded, looking hungrily at Sakura.

Daiki looked at her expectantly.

Sakura did as she was asked, sullenly summoning large illusory roses for the woman, who beamed in delight, trying to touch them.

She was kept in the room for two hours as Daiki brought more and more people in to show off her skills to, summoning greater and more impressive displays until she requested they stop, begging the low chakra excuse.

Daiki seemed to buy it, perhaps because she wasn't lying, not completely. She was pretty drained from creating illusions for two hours, even if they were fairly simple. But she had always had a firm grip on her chakra control, and she still had a reserve left for her next task.

Breaking into Daiki's office was pitifully easy, so easy that she was on put on edge.

She quickly and methodically went through the papers in his desk, combing through every single one for details, memorising them all. There were records of many, many public executions for low-level crimes. Many people were simply accused of treason. She went through crime figures, noting how Daiki's rise to power correlated with the drop in crime. She saw that the death toll went sky high, an exponential increase of executions. Daiki was building a crime-free utopia on the bones of petty criminals.

She had to hurry. The distraction she had left two corridors away should only give her about five more minutes.

Sakura's quick hands paused at a file with her uncle's name on it, _Haruno Kazuo._ A picture was clipped onto the corner of the page, revealing her uncle's face, so similar to her father's, with the traditional Haruno pink hair.

_Executed_, the page read, _for crimes of treason._

Sakura stared at the paper for a long time, committing its contents to memory, then began to replace the papers she had disturbed, remembering where each and every one had been before she had moved them.

She heard voices in the hall.

The door opened.

The files had been replaced, she had left nothing out of place in the entire office.

Daiki entered the room with his aide at his heels, rubbing his sweating forehead tiredly, "That was a mess. Who would _leave_ that there?"

"I don't know, sir."

Daiki moved over to his desk, sitting down with a grateful sigh.

"Tell me about the Konoha girl," Daiki clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, "What did Noriko find?"

The aide straightened, "She was asleep when Noriko came, as expected. She had plans to improve the village in her pack, signed by the Hokage himself. She appears to be genuine in her desire to help."

"I suspected as much," Daiki gave a lazy wave of his hand, looking bored, "The girl is not clever enough to be a spy."

"With respect, a man's weapon does not need to smarter than himself. It could be that the Rokudaime…"

"…has finally gotten his act together and sent someone to aid us." Daiki interrupted irritably, "We may need to arrange for her to have an 'accident,' after she finalises her plans to help the village."

"I don't believe risking arousing the Hokage's suspicion is worth it, sir."

"Right, right. Hey, why don't you offer her a job? Private entertainer, something like that."

The aide shifted, looking uncomfortable, "If that is what my lord wishes."

"Don't look at me like that," Daiki growled, suddenly seeming dangerous, "I meant with those illusions of hers. She kept a bunch of important people happy today. Yes," He looked pleased with himself, languidly smirking, "An alliance with the most powerful Hidden Village in the continent. That certainly seems worth the risk of letting outsiders in."

Sakura clung to the ceiling by her fingertips and toes, chakra strengthening her grip. Her muscles strained.

She stayed like that for half an hour, glaring down at Daiki sitting in his chair, before he finally left, mumbling something about dinner.

Sakura landed silently and exited out from the window.

She retreated back to her hotel room, where she copied down every last bit of devastating evidence against Lord Daiki, her eidetic memory allowing her one hundred percent accuracy. She wrote down her own uncle's obituary report with a dull, leaden feeling in her stomach.

That was it. She was alone. The last Haruno this side of the world.

xxxxxxxx

After the food had been eaten and Suigetsu had drank the bar dry, Team Hebi went back to their shared allocated flat, ignoring their Anbu shadows with practiced ease.

Sasuke sat at the now much quieter table with just Kakashi, staring at his glass of water, avoiding his former sensei's eye.

"What I was trying to show you here," Kakashi said, his tone irritatingly gentle and kind, "Was that Naruto, Sakura and I are not all you have left. You found yourself your own team out there, for better or worse, and they are insanely loyal to you. Not one of them said a word about you. They risked their lives just to find you again. You've got friends, Sasuke, so don't ignore them."

"I won't." Sasuke said, draining his water with one gulp.

"Good. Now, it's high time I introduced you to my drinking buddies, also known as our replacements." Kakashi sat back in his chair, dark eye twinkling in good humour.

Sasuke frowned.

"You'll see."

xxxxxxxx

"I do not understand," Sai said petulantly, his blank face still managing to scowl without producing any real emotion somehow, "Why we have to change our routine in such a way. We always drink at _Razorblades _and then at –"

"It isn't a big deal," Yamato said comfortably, his cheeks a little flushed, "We can make a little room in our schedule for Sasuke, no problem." After an hour of drinking, the respectable Yamato morphed into a drunken idiot with little to no idea of boundaries.

Sasuke sat stiffly between Kakashi and Sai, holding the same drink he had been presented with at the start of the evening, still untouched.

"My cute little student…" Kakashi pinched his cheek. Sasuke twitched, but said nothing. "I mished you, ya little bastard. Every… Every one of your birthdays, I bought an extra drink for you. Made the memories go away quicker!"

"Be quiet, Kakashi." Sai said mildly, sipping his lime green drink. He had drank far more than either of the other two, and yet seemed completely unaffected.

"Shaddup _Sai_, if that is your real name… You don't even have your hair right…" He demonstrated, raising his hands above his head, "Gotta go spikier."

"Yeah, then you and Sasuke could be twins." Yamato agreed, smiling genially and swaying in his chair.

"Impossible," Sai dismissed, "Changing my hairstyle would not change my biological code."

Sasuke prayed the evening would end soon.

The conversation quickly descended into a heated debate over who was better, Sai or Sasuke. Sasuke wisely ignored the conversation completely, but Sai joined in with the utmost solemnity, as though this was a _sane conversational topic._

"I have never betrayed my village." Sai triumphantly declared, except he'd have to change that monotonous tone of voice to emote triumph and unless Sasuke had gotten drunk via osmosis, he spoke in the same dull, low voice.

Sasuke felt himself sink a little lower in his chair at the realisation that he had begun to pick up on Sai's nonverbal cues, meaning he had been here _too long._

"True, true…" Kakashi nodded, "But there was that tongue thing, once…"

Sasuke didn't want to know.

"I am Naruto's new best friend," Sai declared, two pale spots of colour rising in his cheeks, the first sign that the alcohol had begun to take effect, "Just last week, we engaged in a mutual hug."

Sasuke choked on his first, tentative sip of his drink.

Yamato thumped him on the back, laughing jovially, "Looks like you've been solidly replaced in all areas."

Sai gazed at him coolly, a smile flickering about his lips.

Sasuke was seized by the sudden and powerful urge to punch the man in the face. To distract himself, he downed his drink.

"That's the way!" Kakashi cheered.

_Mutual hug,_ Sasuke seethed mentally, and gestured for the bartender to bring him another drink.

xxxxxxxx

Naruto watched as Uchiha Itachi was searched, patted down thoroughly and finally allowed into his office.

"Remember me?" Naruto smiled, "I was the kid in the hallway that one time. Your buddy threatened to cut off my legs. Fun guy."

Itachi didn't say a word.

"Well, I guess you were undercover," The Hokage grumbled, "Not that that makes it OK, it's still pretty fucking messed up."

"I heard you are the youngest Hokage since your father," Itachi said, dark eyes studying Naruto intently, "Congratulations."

"I don't wanna hear that from you." Naruto shook his head, not caring if he seemed childish, "I know I'm awesome, I pay people to remind me every day. We're here to talk about you, anyway. I've been informed you aren't cooperating."

"The plan I've had in place for years has been uprooted and dismantled," Itachi said mildly, "I find myself at a loss."

"Boo hoo." Naruto said pitilessly, "I'm gonna need you to start working with us."

"I'll work with Haruno Sakura." Itachi examined his fingernails, seemingly absorbed.

Naruto gave him a long, unimpressed look, "What's with the Sakura obsession?"

"I care for my brother a great deal. She has displayed the same level of care for him. I want to work with people who share my motives. Whatever I do now will be for Sasuke's benefit."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, you're a selfless pure being, that's great, but I don't think you understand your situation. If I announce to the public that you were undercover and are not in fact, the evil soulless bastard they thought you were, you think they're gonna believe me as easy as that? With another Uchiha already pardoned? Nope. So you are gonna have to go back undercover, I'm afraid."

"Excuse me?"

"You are gonna have to go back undercover. I don't know what as, but there's no way you can live in the village as yourself at the moment. You'd get ripped apart. And that would be bad, I'm sure. I did have one idea… but we'll need Sakura-chan's permission."

"I just received a messenger hawk saying her uncle has died. If you'll only work with Sakura-chan, maybe you wouldn't mind living with her too? That way she could guard you until you turn out to be inevitably evil as you obviously are, and you can sate your Sakura obsession healthily," Naruto was pleased with himself, but gave Itachi a warning frown, "And no funny business or Sakura-chan will tear out your liver. And then I will burn it. Right in front of you. OK?"

"Live with Sakura?" Itachi seemed bemused, "…Let's wait for her to decide."

"Good idea. Hey, 500 yen if you tell me how awesome I am."

"I can do it for free, if you like."

"Awesome."

"Indeed."

* * *

So. Sakura gets a roommate who is disguised as her dead uncle.

Sai is Naruto's new best friend, to Sasuke's displeasure.

Yamato and Kakashi welcome a new drinking buddy.

Team Hebi happily reunite with Sasuke.

Sorry about the long gap between chapters! I suck.

Nearly Christmas! I am strangely not excited at all. I blame the large mound of homework I'm ignoring.

Still, had lots of mince pies today, so all is well on that front.

**Quick poll for fun: **What is your favourite quote? It can be from anything.

Mine, for example, is probably: "_When adults say, "Teenagers think they are invincible" with that sly, stupid smile on their faces, they don't know how right they are. We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We think that we are invincible because we are. We cannot be born, and we cannot die. Like all energy, we can only change shapes and sizes and manifestations. They forget that when they get old. They get scared of losing and failing. But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail_."

― John Green, Looking for Alaska

John Green is a God amongst men, by the way, and if you haven't already done so, please read his books.


	10. Potential Riots, Home Truths

It happened in the third hour she'd spent in Daiki's office, waiting for him to give her leave to go home.

"You look familiar to me…" A bespectacled old man said, peering into her face with a frown, "Have we met before?"

Sakura did not react outwardly, just said, "I don't believe so," in a very even voice, all the while thinking _shit shit shit._

"Ah yes! Haruno Kazuo, you have the same look about you." The man smiled. A second passed before his expression froze over in awful realisation.

Sakura tensed.

Daiki's hand froze over his papers, ink spilling over the pristine desk.

Sakura could only picture her uncle's oblivious smile in the photo they'd used for his treason case.

Daiki snapped his fingers and his guards surged towards her, buffeting the startled old man aside in their eagerness to get to her.

Sakura couldn't help the derisive snort that escaped her as she sailed over their heads, kicking off the wall of the office and through the doorway. She hurtled down the corridor, ignoring the startled yelps of everyone around her, speeding away from the guards.

She leapt through an open window, landing safely on the ground with ease, the people around her reacting with wide-eyed shock. She heard shouts from the building and took off, not taking any chances. She wouldn't want to stick around, not now that they knew her connection to the village. She could class the mission as a success anyway, she had the proof they needed to showcase Daiki's corruption and she could get justice for her uncle.

She easily outstripped the men they sent after her, idly leaping from one rooftop to the next as they desperately tried to keep up on the streets below.

xxxxxxxx

The village was in a commotion by the time she got back, crowds of people angrily talking over each other, a few people crying in groups. Sakura walked through the streets, thoroughly disturbed, and heard a woman sniff tearfully, "My best friend was an Uchiha. She didn't stand a chance when that one turned on them, she wasn't even a shinobi. I was so devastated… and now this? The Hokage pardons them both? How much can that clan get away with? We aren't safe with those two walking free!"

Sakura spotted a group of shinobi in front of a line of shops, grimly trying to keep the civilians away. "Please keep back! Use the other streets for now, this one is in use by order of the Hokage!"

"Screw the Hokage!" A man yelled back.

The group of shinobi didn't budge, a deadly human barricade that no civilian seemed brave enough to approach. They blocked the mouth of the street. Sakura stood on her tiptoes to see why.

Sasuke was alone beyond the barricade, sitting on the street floor, his head in his hands. Sakura could see the light tremor running along his muscles.

"Let me pass!" Sakura demanded, standing in front of the shinobi, her arms crossed. Sasuke's head jerked up at the sound of her voice.

"I'm sorry, Haruno-san," The leader of the group, a soft-voiced man said, "The Hokage himself insisted Uchiha-san is to be isolated from the rest of the village until further orders state otherwise."

"Then the Hokage is a moron." Sakura declared hotly, ignoring the cheers of the civilians behind her at her words, "Let me pass right now!"

"Sakura, you're back early." Kakashi drawled, stepping out of the alley next to Sasuke, his posture relaxed as though he wasn't standing at the head of a possible riot, "Let her through."

Sakura gave the shinobi leader a smug grin as he stepped aside. She broke through the barricade with a flounce.

She was at Sasuke's side in seconds, "Sasuke, are you alright? What happened?"

"Naruto publicly pardoned both Sasuke and Itachi of all their assumed crimes, then managed to incite the village's rage when he started a shouting match after someone questioned his choice." Kakashi said wearily, with the air of someone who had long foreseen a crisis coming and had not been heeded.

Sasuke was staring at Sakura. Despite his position on the ground, his face was calm, wretchedly so, no tears or trace of anguish that she could see. That was far more worrying than the expected fury or devastation she had anticipated. He looked numb.

"You've come just as I was trying to persuade Sasuke to come back to the Hokage Tower with me." Kakashi explained, "But this crowd started shouting and Sasuke…"

Sakura could imagine.

She knelt down in front of him.

"He isn't innocent." Sasuke said flatly, "I saw him."

"I know, I believe you," Sakura said sincerely, "But Naruto isn't saying Itachi didn't do it. He's saying his reasons aren't what we thought they were."

"He still did it," Sasuke said hollowly, "Why should he be free? Why should I be free? If this is what Naruto is going to be like as Hokage, Konoha should eject him from the village right now."

Sakura gave a little chuckle, startling an almost-smile out Sasuke. Her chest fluttered. _Not now,_ she thought sternly.

"Your whole reason for coming back was for a chance to talk to Itachi and learn his reasons," Sakura said, sensible as ever, "This is your chance, I'm on my way there to file my mission report. Want to come with me?"

"Gonna go see Naruto?" Kakashi murmured, "Hm, I'll come with."

Sasuke's eyes flicked from Kakashi to Sakura and back again, then he stood. He remained silent, sticking his hands in his pockets.

Kakashi moved to the leader of Sasuke's guard and muttered something in his ear. The man nodded and addressed his group sharply, "Alright, we're moving out. Keep a tight guard around this three, Haruno-san, Kakashi and Uchiha-san and head to the Hokage Tower. Got it? Let's go."

Sakura slipped her arm through Sasuke's casually, a friendly gesture. She wanted him to feel safe.

They began the slow process of filing down the purposefully empty streets.

"When you spoke with him, what did he say to you?" Sasuke asked. His arm was limp and unresisting in hers, but his steps were assured, driven. He knew where he was going. He hadn't forgotten Konoha's layout in his absence, that much was obvious. Sakura gave the question some thought, wanting to be completely honest with Sasuke. He needed at least one sympathetic friend in his life willing to tell him the truth. He shouldn't be cossetted and babysat as Naruto had decreed. That would only demean him.

"He was pretty rude at first. Sarcastic, flirty, deliberately trying to provoke reactions from me."

"He was faking it." Sasuke said tonelessly.

"I guess. He kept flirting even after the truth – or whatever this is – came out." Sakura shivered, unconsciously rubbing her arms. Sasuke tracked the movement with his dark eyes and his brows lowered a fraction.

"Guys, just a suggestion but you may want to keep the chatter down until we get there. Don't want to accidentally blurt out classified info for any random civilian to hear." Kakashi winked, or at least made a passable attempt at winking, and walked ahead of them, cutting off any reply they might have made.

"He hasn't changed." Sasuke muttered.

"I think he's incapable of it," Sakura replied, wrinkling her nose, "Or if he can change, it's only his age that rises. Everything else gets worse."

"I am like a _fine wine_, Sakura," Kakashi called back, not sounding the least bit upset, "I am maturing beautifully with age."

"Oh yeah? Let me know when you mature to post-puberty. It would be nice if you could put those revolting books away for good."

"Perish the thought." Kakashi said cheerfully.

Sasuke puffed out a breath loudly, sounding almost amused.

"You seem more like you are growing more rotten as you age." Sasuke suggested, "Perhaps you could liken yourself to cheese instead?"

"Shows what you know, uncultured brat. Cheese only gets better with age."

"You would say that. You possess particular bias on the subject, considering your nature."

"You're reminding me why I never missed you…" Kakashi said warningly.

"Except on birthdays," Sasuke said, to Sakura's bemusement, his mouth curling into a smirk, "Didn't you say you drank extra on my birthdays to, what was it? Make the pain go away quicker?"

"I'm never drinking with you again. The bartender made me pay for the cleaning costs of all the puke you left on the bar, by the way, and Sai says someone threw a shoe at him as he walked home. I'm guessing that was you."

Sasuke looked a little shifty at that, his pace quickening.

"I never intended it to hit him."

"And yet it did. In the head. Knocking him conveniently into a puddle. Almost as if it had been planned."

"You and the clone made it back safely, didn't you?" Sasuke bit out.

"Yes, and we should be eternally grateful. We drank with Uchiha Sasuke and made it back –" Kakashi affected a dramatic shudder, " – _unmolested."_

Sasuke didn't dignify that comment with a reply, but Sakura noticed some of the tension in his shoulders abate, and his smirk was maintained all the way to the Hokage's office.

xxxxxxxx

Uzumaki Naruto walked slowly under the weight of his Hokage robes. Itachi walked a pace behind him in silence, his face as blank as ever. Naruto had seen him with a shit-eating grin, a remorseful frown and a respectful smile, and had instinctively been able to tell each one was fake. Naruto was no fool. He knew what a career in the Anbu and working as a double agent in a violent criminal organisation could do to a person's psyche. That didn't mean he had to _like_ the creepy bastard.

"This seems like a job slightly below Kage-level, wouldn't you agree?" Itachi asked mildly.

"I've got two members of the Uchiha clan alive and returned safely to the village. I've just absolved them both of all crimes. One believes the other to have murdered their entire clan for shits and giggles. The other is a self-sacrificing, Sakura-obsessing martyr with a death wish. They are going to meet for the first time since this revelation came out. I think I'm the perfect guy for the job, actually."

"Fair enough, Hokage-sama."

A jounin with red eyes hailed them as they rounded the corner to Naruto's office.

"Hokage-sama," The woman said, eyes lowered respectfully despite being at least ten years older than him, "I've been informed that Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi and," Her eyes flickered to Itachi, curious and scarlet, "Uchiha Sasuke are currently waiting for you in your office. I thought you might like a quick warning, considering your company."

Naruto stiffened at Sasuke's name, though Itachi did not show any reaction himself. "Thanks, Kurenai." He said absently, straightening his hat, "Have you seen Hinata?"

"Here, Hokage-sama." A dark-haired, slim woman emerged from the room next to Naruto's, her eyes Hyuuga-pale and perceptive. She gave Itachi a long, thorough look, her eyes lingering on his own as though noting the absence of Sharingan.

"Oh, good. Could you have Sakura, Kakashi and Sasuke escorted to an interrogation room please? Don't look so freaked out, they've done nothing wrong! I'll be there in about half an hour, with this guy right here. Itachi and Sasuke need to have a little chat."

Kurenai and Hinata both bowed deeply, the older woman giving Itachi an assessing glance before leaving, and the younger offering Naruto a small, shy smile before disappearing into his office, her polite voice already humming through the door. Itachi stilled, hoping to hear Sasuke's voice, but it was the light, feminine tones of Sakura that spoke next.

"I won't let Sasuke speak to him alone." She said stubbornly. Sasuke evidently had no reply even then, because the room fell silent after her proclamation.

Naruto turned and lightly grasped Itachi's sleeve, one hand forming the seal for instant transportation.

Itachi blinked, his eyes watering from the smoke, and took a look around to absorb his new surroundings. He stood in the bowels of a familiar building. He sighed. Would he never be rid of this place?

Naruto pulled a random shinobi aside and asked to see Ibiki. She complied with a nervous glance at Itachi's unbound hands, leaving quickly.

"Do you really think the village will trust Sasuke and I again so easily?" Itachi asked curiously.

"When did I say it would be easy? You're having your chat with Sasuke and then you're gonna change into your Haruno Kazuo look and live like a normal guy for once in your insane life. We need to prove to the village that you can be trusted and that won't happen with me making a pretty speech. Actions speak louder than words and all that." Naruto gave him an impatient glare, seeming annoyed by his pessimism.

"This must be quite stressful, six months into your run as Hokage and you have to deal with this. Aren't you afraid of failing?"

Naruto straightened up, grinning brightly, "Nope! If I ever fail, I just get right back up again and succeed the next time! I never give up!"

Itachi stared at him, mildly concerned, "Yes, but I believe messing up as Hokage isn't something you usually 'get right back up' from?"

"What do you know?" Naruto gave him a sullen look, "You haven't seen a Hokage since the old man. You're two Hokages down the line right now. Things have changed."

"I understand that, but –"

"Hokage-sama, we had a room cleared for the Uchihas' to have their talk but we were wondering how long you'd need it?" Ibiki walked up to them, clearing the distance with great strides. He looked supremely unconcerned to see Itachi free.

"Uh, I dunno. Like, an hour, probably. Why, how many people have we got to interrogate?" Naruto eyed him suspiciously.

Ibiki coughed, "No more than usual, Hokage-sama. No more than usual."

"Comforting," Naruto sighed, his smile turning wry, "I don't wanna know the details anyway. Lead the way then, Ibiki."

xxxxxxxx

Sasuke sat at the table, his bony wrists illuminated by the overhead light, his head down. Sakura, stood beside him, could barely hear his shallow, quiet breaths, but she could see his thin back rise and fall softly with each one. She placed her hand on his back and felt his warmth leech through his shirt into her skin. She knelt down next to him, hand still on his back, and silently rested her head against his knee.

Sasuke took the wordless comfort strangely well, he did not shake her off or snap at her. Instead, he merely relaxed into her touch, his breathing becoming deep and rhythmic. His eyes were closed.

Someone knocked on the door. Sakura jerked away automatically and felt an answering pull on her hand. Without her noticing or even feeling it, Sasuke had taken her hand in his and now held it tightly, his own hand trembling in hers.

Tenten opened the door, eyebrows climbing upwards at the sight of the two of them so unusually intimate, then said, "They'll be here soon. Sakura, you should come with me now to stand with the others."

Sakura nodded, squeezing Sasuke's hand in reassurance, and went to stand.

Sasuke did not let go.

"Sasuke-kun?" She murmured, feeling her palms begin to sweat. Itachi would be here soon.

Sasuke did not look at her, but his grip tightened. Sakura closed her mouth against the protest that her sheepishness threw up – she didn't want to be escorted out of the room by Ibiki with a stern chastisement about knowing her place.

But Sasuke's palm was as damp as hers, and his wrists were thin and brittle. The bags under his eyes stood out like bruises. His jaw was clenched tightly, his eyes still closed.

He was afraid. And he needed her.

"I'm just going to stay here, if that's OK with you. I want to hear what he says too." Sakura said, kneeling down by his chair, hand still in Sasuke's.

Tenten just gave her a look of solidarity, a quick, supportive smile, then disappeared back through the door.

Sakura glanced at the mirror that took up half the wall. She knew Ibiki and a few others would be there, maybe even Naruto and Itachi already. She swallowed, then determinedly turned away from the glass. If she was going to have to stay through this, she absolutely did not want to showcase her every emotion to the entire shinobi workforce in this section of the village.

There was another knock. Sakura squeezed Sasuke's hand, looked to see if he was ready, then called, "come in," when he nodded.

Itachi walked into the room, free and clean-shaven, his hair tied into a low ponytail, his mouth a wry, crooked thing not quite worthy of being called a smile. He glanced at Sakura, a glimmer of recognition in his eyes, then sat down opposite Sasuke. Sakura instantly felt ridiculous, crouching on the floor at Sasuke's feet. She wondered if she looked even half as pathetic as she felt.

Itachi coughed, "Sakura, we could always have another chair brought in if…"

We. We? Who did he think he was? Did he work here?

Sasuke finally opened his eyes. Itachi immediately sat back in his seat, face blank and smoothed of all emotion. Sakura had learnt by now to be suspicious if an Uchiha appeared to physically will away emotion from their face, it did not bode well for their mental health.

"Sakura stays." Sasuke said, his voice low and hoarse. His tone brooked no argument.

"Oh, of course," Itachi waved his hands, "I just meant she might be more comfortable with a chair."

"I'm fine," Sakura said, stroking a thumb across Sasuke's palm reflexively, "I'm not a delicate flower, you know."

Itachi looked as though he had a few witty retorts for that comment, judging by the smirk on his face, but he instead turned to Sasuke, "I know you have questions. I know I have a lot to answer for –"

Sakura snorted.

"- so you should know, I'm happy to tell you everything you want."

Sasuke's shoulders were tense. It looked as though every muscle in his body was coiled painfully.

"Why?" He asked simply, looking up at his older brother.

Itachi blanched, "Why am I happy to tell –"

"Why did you kill them?" Sasuke's voice cracked and, as if in response, he clutched Sakura's hand like a lifeline.

Sakura laid her free hand over their handclasp and murmured something comforting. He blinked a few times.

"It was an order from the Council," Itachi said evenly, "I didn't have a choice."

Sasuke was rooted in his seat, his hand painfully grasping Sakura's. He let out a harsh bark of a laugh, mirthless and angry, "Yes you did. You made your choice when you turned on the clan."

"They were plotting against Konoha."

"They were your family! Our family!"

"Lots of people have families, Sasuke!" Itachi snapped, looking angry now, "Everyone, in fact! Families that would die, be torn apart, just like ours, if I did nothing! If I allowed it, there would have been a civil war. What would you have done differently?"

"I wouldn't have killed my family!" Sasuke bellowed, making Sakura jump and Itachi narrow his eyes, "I would have found another way!"

"You would have joined them," Itachi said harshly, "Father always made sure –"

"DON'T TALK ABOUT HIM!" Sasuke leapt out of his seat, flinging Sakura's hand away, "YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT!" He shouted, smacking his hand off the table.

Sakura grabbed Sasuke, ignoring his struggles, and turned him to face her.

"You wanted answers, Sasuke-kun," She said steadily, "But if you attack him, the session will be called off. This is your chance to know the truth. I know it hurts, believe me, but you have to just bear it for as long as it takes, then you never have to see him again."

Sasuke was breathing heavily, his face livid, but he allowed her to hold onto him until he calmed down. Itachi watched them both, looking strangely attentive.

"Itachi, I think it would be best if you stuck to the facts and didn't say anything inflammatory." Sakura told the man coolly, her lip curling in derision.

"That will be difficult, I suspect."

"Do your best. Sasuke-kun, are you OK to continue?"

In answer, Sasuke turned back to Itachi, "What do you want with Sakura?"

A hint of frustration made it into Itachi's otherwise blank expression. "Alright, let me make this perfectly clear. I have no ulterior motives. I'm not a missing-nin. I'm not even a criminal. I do not like cruelty and I certainly do not go out of my way to cause pain. I am not targeting your loved ones, Sasuke. It may seem impossible, perhaps even comical, but I genuinely have nothing but your best interests at heart. There is nothing I would not do for you. You have no idea how happy I am that I can now openly help you and make sure you're alright. I love you, little brother." Itachi smiled across the table, his eyes slightly wet.

Sasuke stared back at him coldly, "Did the Council want you to kill me?"

Itachi swallowed. It took him a few seconds to say, "Yes."

"Why didn't you?"

"I loved you too much."

"But not our parents."

Itachi closed his eyes, pain etched in every line of his face. "You have," He began, rubbing the space between his eyes, "no idea what I felt that night. You don't know. How long it took. If I ever hesitated. If I could change anything. And I won't tell you, because it won't help. But I can tell you that I loved our parents."

"Not enough."

"You'll find fault in everything I say, but I suppose it's true I loved you more than them. You were so innocent, Sasuke. So sweet and young. I couldn't execute you like a traitor when you had done nothing wrong. I could not lift a blade against you."

"But you could force me to relive the moment you killed our parents over and over again even as I begged you not to do it." Sasuke said flatly, so calm and toneless that it took Sakura's breath away to hear it stated so plainly. Itachi recoiled as though slapped.

"You could chase me. Make me fear for my life. Make me run through the streets, the bodies of my family all around me. You could tell me I was not worth killing. Tell me to kill my friend. To dedicate my life to getting revenge. You could do all of that, make me screw up my entire life, spend my days pushing myself to be the best, just like you, not out of admiration for my older brother, but so one day I could grow up to kill you and avenge my family. You could do that, but you couldn't kill me. Forgive me if I found fault."

Itachi was frozen in his seat.

"You didn't spare me out of the kindness of your heart. So tell me. Why. Am. I. Alive?"

"…Because I needed someone to kill me." Itachi whispered, "It had to be you. I wanted you to be a hero, the hero who killed me and avenged the Uchiha clan. I wanted to restore the clan's reputation."

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura felt her breath catch at the sight of tears glittering Sasuke's eyes. _He was in tears._

"Because I love my family." Itachi replied sadly.

"Not enough." Sasuke whispered again, and stood, "one more question," He said, wiping his eyes angrily, "Why did you surrender to Konoha?"

"I wanted to see who the special girl in your life was," Itachi managed a light-hearted smile, "The girl who… who ruined my plans."

Sasuke paused. He turned back to Sakura, his eyes scanning her face.

She gave him a slow, gentle smile, her eyes warm and tender at the sight of his wounded expression.

Itachi sat in silence, watching the exchange.

Sasuke turned back to his brother, "You will not talk to her again. You won't talk to anyone I… I – speak to. If Naruto wasn't Hokage, I'd say the same about him. If I find out you've been bothering her, or anyone I know, I will not hesitate. Much like you."

Itachi looked grave, but nodded slowly, watching his brother with careful eyes.

Sasuke took Sakura's wrist without a word, not looking at her, and gently pulled her out of the room.

"I won't hurt her," Itachi called as they left, "You don't need to worry about leaving her alone with me."

Sasuke ignored him, leaving the room with Sakura in tow. If she noticed his hands trembling slightly, she was kind enough not say anything.

* * *

OH MY GOD I LITERALLY HAD NO IDEA I HAD TAKEN SO EFFING LONG TO UPDATE THIS FIC! I AM BEYOND THE VALLEY OF SORRY, I AM IN THE FOREST OF ARDENT APOLOGIES, I'M SO VERY SORRY!

Why did this take so long? I don't even know!

Hey, my darlings, I was wondering if any of you would ever like to send me a letter or something in the post? I miss people writing to me. I think the last time was Auntie Sarah. And I was like NINE. I'd have to buy (or rent. Or hire? what is the lingo with this, I don't even) a PO box for the post to be sent to. Because even I'm not quite stupid enough to put my real address on the internet. I would literally love it and die a thousand deaths if I got even ONE LETTER :D So let me know if any of you would be interested in doing that, please :)

I still think Itachi's Uchiha massacre smells of bullshit. Seriously. I killed them all but I'm actually a really nice guy? God, it's hard to write him as a nice guy. IMPOSSIBLE. Wouldn't he have had to kill kids and old people in the clan as well? Super-duper nice.

I'm trying to write Sasuke as well as I can but to be honest his character is evading me, mostly because I cannot get trigger-happy, batshit crazy Sasuke's personality out of my head whenever I try to write him. I want to cry on my keyboard _no Sasuke don't massacre that village._

I'm avoiding the manga. Ever since that plot-spoilery-upsetting thing that happened recently. I will not go there, but basically I'm pretending it never happened. Much like the past two hundred chapters or so.

I'm nearly twenty btw! My birthday's the 30th of March :) I won't be a teenager anymore! Weird.

**Quick poll for SCIENCE (and also because Katlou is a lonely, sad creature): **Would you ever consider writing to me?

A) Yep, will do!

B) Nope!

C) Maybe :D

D) Other, let me know!

P.S. I chuckled when writing the line, 'Screw the Hokage!'

P.P.S. I'm really nearly twenty I swear. I'm just very immature.


	11. Adjusting Facades, Old Wounds

Ibiku had, in an uncharacteristic display of kindness and tact, silently shown Sakura and Sasuke into a quiet room away from everyone else.

Sakura sat on the settee, close enough to Sasuke to feel the warmth of his leg next to hers. She watched him, her heart aching bitterly at the sight.

His face was tight with the effort of suppressing his emotions, a tumultuous battle clearly raging within him. His knee was shaking up and down with nervous energy, an atypical gesture for a shinobi. In the whole time Sakura had known Sasuke, he had never had any tells, nothing to express his emotions beyond what he wanted to show. His smirks, his scowls, that was all she ever got. Now, his teeth clenched, his breath hissing in and out shallowly as he struggled with himself. He smoothed his shaking hands across his face and made the smallest of noises in the back of his throat. It sounded almost like a sob.

Sakura didn't say anything. She just reached over and took his hand.

For half an hour she sat there, listening to his breathing slow down, his heartbeat settling back to normal. She felt something during that time, amidst the shared warmth and contact, something that felt like a tugging sensation. She wanted to stay sitting there for hours, just holding each other's hand – for Sasuke had slowly wrapped his own fingers around hers in return – content in their companionable silence.

When he cleared his throat, letting go of her hand, she saw fit to speak up.

"Are you alright, Sasuke-kun?"

He coughed once. He turned away, the back of his neck flushed red.

"Drop the suffix, Sakura." Sasuke said, his voice markedly cooler than before. Sakura took a breath and held it, aborting the reflexive reach her hand made towards him. She snatched her fingers away, embarrassed by her body's automatic response to Sasuke. He was not the boy she once knew, the boy she touched so often (yet never casually), a comforting pat on the arm, a measured squeeze of the shoulder, a desperate clasp of the hand… she no longer had the right to do any of it.

"Excuse me?" Sakura asked, brushing her thumb under both eyes, removing the remaining moisture from her last outbreak of emotion.

"We are not friends." He said. His words were clipped, unemotional.

"Oh yeah?" Sakura said, suddenly angry now, angry he had to spoil something good and honest because of his stupid 'I work alone' mentality, "Is that why I just spent half an hour holding your hand and comforting you? Because I don't care about you? Is that why you saved my life repeatedly when we were young, and I spared yours? Because we aren't friends? Fuck you!"

Something flickered in his fixed expression, a slight widening of the eyes – surprise. At the uncharacteristic profanity, perhaps? He never had seen as much of her temper as Naruto.

"I didn't come back here to re-join Team Seven, or even because I wanted to. I came to speak with him, and now I'm done. So stop acting as though we are something more than we are."

Sakura stared at him, her lips pressed together tightly. She bowed her head, staring at her feet, the green nail varnish, the peach skin.

"You know how I feel about you. Please… stop pushing me away."

"You had a childish crush on me once. You are not in love with me, Sakura."

"Don't you _ever_ try to tell me how _I_ feel, _Sasuke_!" Sakura seethed, purposefully dropping the suffix, "As if you know anything about me! You haven't been here for years, and even when you _were_ here, you never condescended to have a conversation with me that wasn't you insulting me or trying to tear down my self-esteem so what the _fuck_ do you know about my feelings? Like it or not, you are here to stay, so why don't you use that brain of yours and realise that pushing away your only allies is the _stupidest_ thing you could do? I – I -" She came to a halt, spitting mad and incoherent from the injustice of it all.

"I don't need you," Sasuke said with flat certainty, "You would do better to stay away from me. I don't need your friendship, or your comfort."

"Is that what this is – are you – are you _embarrassed?_" Sakura asked incredulously, "Embarrassed that you needed comfort and I was there to provide it? You aren't made of stone, everyone needs –"

"I don't." He snarled, "I never have and I never will. Not from you or anyone."

Silence filled the tiny, cramped room, a suffocating presence. Sakura could only hear white noise, her thoughts buzzing static. They had held hands and she had felt something like a bond between them. She was a fool, still too young and too stupid to have any sense. She was twelve years old again, with long, pretty hair and a simpering voice. No, she was twenty-one, a woman and a shinobi. He was traitor who pushed away anyone who tried to help him. _He_ was the fool, not her.

"Then go," Sakura said, the bitter sting of his words puncturing her rage. She caught her breath against the ache beneath her ribs, the numb hurt. Old wounds reopening once more, "Run away. You're good at that."

His movements stilled at the familiar words. She'd said them once before, the time they'd met on the battlefield and he had spared her life carelessly.

"Naruto pardoned you and your brother. You are a free man." Sakura continued, "You can go where you like. Please… don't feel the need to stick around."

She pushed past him and left him there, in the tiny, cramped room.

xxxxxxxx

Hinata had shown her into Naruto's office with a strained smile, so Sakura knew even then something was wrong.

"No." She said simply, "I won't do it."

Itachi had taken off the cloak of the smirking, flirtatious traitor, and now he revealed what may be his true nature beneath – a stoic man unmoved by everything. He was a man who knew the value of keeping his silence. Throughout all of Naruto and Sakura's furious discussion, he had kept quiet and watched closely. He stood next to Sakura, hands clasped behind his back, spine poker straight.

"Sakura-chan, please," Naruto said wearily, "I know it's too much to ask, I get it, believe me. But he won't work with anyone else, there isn't anyone else who is suitable for it either."

"Then let him live alone in a flat under a different disguise," Sakura argued, "Why does it have to be me he lives with? Wearing my uncle's appearance? No. "

"He needs constant supervision," Naruto said, "I don't care what the Council say, I want to be careful, especially with the last Uchiha confined to the village as well. Until they reach an understanding and the villagers don't want to tear them limb from limb, they will stay under shinobi guard. It's not difficult to believe your uncle would come to live with you. No one in Konoha knows he is dead. Itachi doesn't care where I put him, he said so himself, but I want it to be you, Sakura-chan. I trust you. _Sasuke _trusts you."

Ah, she thought, so that's what this is really about. _Sasuke._ Naruto was taking the most complicated route because he viewed Itachi as a complex issue that shouldn't be handled by anyone not in Sasuke's inner circle. After discovering his own Council had lied to him and his predecessor, it made sense he was clinging to his true allies to take care of it rather than a random, more suitable shinobi.

"What do you think about this?" Sakura demanded, turning on Itachi. His face revealed nothing. It was a blank canvas – no emotion whatsoever. It was almost creepy after growing used to his constant smirks.

"I will go where I am bid." He said, shrugging, "It would upset Sasuke greatly if I were to live with you, however."

"He wouldn't have to know," Naruto said slowly, "You would be Haruno Kazuo, someone he would never even have to meet."

"And what are your plans for Sasuke, might I ask?"

"He's going to move back into his old house," Naruto began. Itachi's expression did not change at the news that his little brother was going to live in the house where his family had been slaughtered. "His chakra's going to be blocked and his access to his Sharingan sealed away. He'll be under constant Anbu guard. You will too, by the way. I don't want to take any chances."

Itachi bowed, "A wise precaution, Hokage-sama."

Sakura felt her lips curl into a sneer at his newfound servility.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto looked up at her from his desk, his tanned, still-youthful face taut with stress. His lips pressed together, forming a hard line. Sakura knew what was coming and felt a surge of resentment. "I'm doing the best I can. I need your cooperation – not just as my employee, but as my best friend. You're one of the only people I trust completely. I know what you are capable of."

The problem with having one of your friends from childhood become your Hokage was that it was impossible to take his 'orders' as anything other than 'requests.' Not only that, but Naruto was hardly someone she was used to obeying. If anything, she used to boss _him_ around up until six months ago. How could she take him seriously?

Any other chuunin would have puffed up with pride at having the Hokage personally entrust them with a mission. To Sakura, it just felt like her friend was asking the impossible of her.

She heaved a long, unfeigned sigh of annoyance and, with a put-upon air, seized one of Naruto's spare sheets of paper. She took a second to recall the picture of her uncle that had been clipped to his file, and began to roughly sketch out his appearance.

Soon, with Itachi subtly watching over shoulder and Naruto goggling openly, she had constructed a passable replica of her uncle's features, the messy, light hair, the bags under his eyes – even the small smattering of freckles over the bridge of his nose.

"Here," Sakura said, shoving the paper at Itachi, "Use me as a reference as well as this picture. He had the same colour hair, eyes and skin as me. Transform into him."

Itachi gazed at the paper for half a minute before he blinked, eyes whirring into Sharingan. Naruto shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

Itachi raised his blood-red eyes to scan Sakura's face. She stared back at him unflinchingly, knowing Naruto was powerful enough to interrupt any jutsu Itachi used within seconds, and also instinctively knowing Itachi had no intention of attacking.

His eyes lingered on hers for longer than she felt at ease with, then his hands formed a seal.

With a puff of smoke, her Uncle Kazuo emerged.

The likeness was frightening. Sakura blinked back a shocked tear at the sight of her own eyes staring back at her. Her father's eyes, too. She hadn't seen another person with those eyes beyond a mirror for too long. Now an imposter wore a dead man's… it was not a pleasant feeling to witness.

"Well?" Itachi drawled.

"Perfect." Sakura whispered, turning away.

"How old was he?" Itachi asked, his voice gentler now.

"Thirty-four."

"Ah. Did he have no visible signs of ageing?"

Sakura cursed under her breath, remembering the streaks of grey at his temple. "You need a few slices of grey here," She said, turning back to face him. She used the pencil to lightly draw lines onto the illusory pink hair, her hand brushing against Itachi's face briefly as she did so. She scowled, yanking the pencil away to demonstrate on the picture.

"Other than that, it's perfect. Naruto, do you want me to take him back to my flat now?"

Naruto had been watching them with an immensely curious gaze, his brows furrowed. "Yeah, if you can. Show him around Konoha while you're at it – it's changed since he's been here last."

"Hokage-sama, I have actually returned to Konoha many times in the past few years – either under Akatsuki's orders or to report to the Council – so I do not believe a tour is wholly necessary."

Naruto grimaced, "Look, while I'm Hokage, do me a favour and talk normally please? You're making my head hurt. How hard is it to say, no sweat I've been here loads of times?"

The slight downturn of Itachi's lips made Sakura think it would be very hard indeed for him.

xxxxxxxx

"With respect," Itachi ventured mildly after several minutes of frosty silence, "You are very different from how I imagined you would be."

"Sorry to disappoint." Sakura said tersely, turning another corner, on the well-worn path from the Hokage Tower to home.

"That's not what I meant. I had – and still have, I suppose – a host of spies in my employ. When I discovered the root of Sasuke's change of heart, I wanted to know more about you. Brotherly concern, you could call it. All reports claimed you were a bright, cheerful girl with a mild temperament. That was a while ago, so I understand that you may have changed, but… I wonder what triggered it."

"Do you always need to know the cause of things?" Sakura snapped, ignoring a clothes merchant beckoning to her, claiming to have just the right fabric to make her 'pretty eyes pop.' "I grew up. I stopped wasting my time on frivolous things. Is that a crime?"

"So defensive," Itachi remarked, studying her with an aside glance, his gaze intent, "Was that a sore point I prodded there?"

A shadow crossing their path made them halt, Sakura's retort never leaving her lips.

"Sakura." Neji nodded, his tone even. The two of them got along pleasantly enough, but had never really spoken properly. Sakura had seen him without his shirt off on one memorable occasion, when the hospital received an unprecedented level of new patients and he had been shoved at her, still just a rookie back then. It had only been a few broken ribs and a nasty gash along his side, enough so that his beauty was unmarred, causing Sakura to conduct the entire affair with a red face and stuttering voice. Neji, with his perceptive Hyuuga eyes, had been discreet enough not to mention it.

Still, seeing him suddenly usually brought that memory springing back to mind and now was no exception.

"Neji." Sakura coughed, her face hot. Itachi tilted his head, ever so slightly. Tenten stood next to her teammate, a bag slung over her shoulder. Her brown eyes warmed upon seeing Sakura.

"Hey. I've been meaning to ask you, can we hang out the next time our days off match? Ino never seems to leave work, so I've had no one to pretend to be girly with." She gave a rueful smile. On the few occasions the kunoichi got together, Tenten had never quite fit in. Her anecdotes were usually about stumbling upon a secret cache of weapons, or that time a man had tried to force himself on her and she had emasculated him quite literally.

"Of course." Sakura couldn't help but smile. Tenten's awkwardness out of combat never failed to be endearing.

"Who's this, by the way?" Tenten nodded at Itachi. Sakura felt her lips tighten – she'd hoped she could merely stash him away in her flat and not have to help perpetuate this ridiculous farce. To lie to her friends, to spit on her uncle's memory… to have her failure rubbed in her face for the foreseeable future… She felt another surge of bitterness towards Naruto and hoped this fool's game wouldn't end up souring their relationship.

"Haruno Kazuo," Itachi said smoothly, smiling brightly at his clueless former guard, "I'm Sakura's uncle. I've come to stay with her for a while."

Neji's pale eyes scanned Itachi's face. Sakura took the half-second he spent on that to school her own features into a carefree look. Though she despised this mission, she'd be damned if she'd compromise it because she couldn't keep a micro-expression off her face before the eyes of a Hyuuga.

"You look far too young to be an uncle!" Tenten observed, smiling oddly – was that – oh _what_, Sakura groaned internally, this was too much. Tenten, the Anbu soldier, was attracted to the guise of Sakura's dead uncle who in reality was her former criminal charge, Itachi. Fate truly did have a sense of humour.

Neji's eyes swept straight from Sakura's face to Tenten's. His lip curled in derision at her interest.

Itachi swept his light hair back, self-consciously smoothing away the grey streaks. He seemed to inhabit her uncle like a second skin. He was clearly a born actor. Shinobi like him had always fascinated Sakura, appealing to her latent academic nature. He was always completely in control.

"We need to meet Lee." Neji said quietly, pale gaze digging into the side of Tenten's head.

"Oh, right." Tenten said sheepishly. Neji shook his head slightly, his silky hair spilling down his back with the movement.

"Uncle and I need to get back to the flat anyway," Sakura said, forcing a smile, "I'll see you both later."

Tenten waved as they left and Neji managed a slow nod in farewell. Itachi watched them go with curious green eyes.

"How could I be too young to be an uncle?" He asked, his brow furrowed in mild confusion, "A baby can have adult siblings who in turn have their own –"

"You honestly don't know what she was doing?" Sakura stared at him incredulously, "She was – in her own way – trying to _flirt_ with you."

Itachi frowned, "Surely she knows she's far too young for me?"

"What? She's twenty-two!" Sakura said defensively.

"And I," Itachi adjusted his shirt, "am thirty-four. I would have thought she would have known better, considering how sensible she seemed as my guard."

"Tenten's no gushing fool," Sakura said severely, "She paid you a compliment and, by the way, I'll thank you not to judge her worth as a shinobi based on her interest in older men."

Itachi merely made a thoughtful hum, resuming his slow, unhurried pace at her side as they took off once more.

"She ought to look a little closer to home," He said finally when they'd left the market and arrived at the crossroads, "That long-haired man is clearly in love with her."

"What, Neji? Neji is way too serious for stuff like that," Sakura dismissed, "He's in love with training, if anything. I've seen him look at _Naruto_ more fondly than Tenten."

Itachi hummed again, a little smile playing about his lips as though he knew a secret he wasn't telling. Sakura was uncomfortably reminded of Kakashi.

Something struck her, "Hey what are you really like? Personality wise?"

Itachi's face gave nothing away. He continued to follow her obediently enough and he never strayed out of her sight, but he did not answer her question until they stood outside her flat.

"Ask Sasuke what I was like before the massacre," Itachi said simply, "I could always be myself around him."

"And you can't around me?" Sakura raised her eyebrows in question, slightly offended, "Or anyone else?" She added to avoid seeming self-centred.

Itachi's shoulders twitched, ever so slightly. He took a deep breath and Sakura watched his act as Haruno Kazuo wash away like water sluicing down a drain. The line between his brows vanished. His mouth quirked up in a sardonic smirk. His eyes curved up in amusement. He looked ten years younger, yet he still retained all of her Uncle Kazuo's features.

"I did play around a bit with you, yes. It's not often I get the chance to cut loose and act foolish, tell jokes and the like. It was… pleasant. So, please do not feel insulted that I couldn't be myself with you. It was an agreeable change from the previous persona I used. After Akatsuki disbanded, however, I did have the time and opportunity to be myself. Would you be more comfortable if I behaved as such around you in future?"

Sakura turned her key in the lock with a decisive twist, automatically kicking the base of the door when it got stuck. It swung open wearily, its hinges giving a mournful creak.

Itachi followed behind her, his borrowed eyes sweeping the room with unfeigned interest.

"You can be yourself in a contained, uncompromised space," Sakura replied wryly, "In all other areas, you need to act like my beloved uncle."

With that, she placed her hand on the door, palm outwards, and concentrated her chakra to filter through the grains of wood and flakes of paint. The world narrowed until it contained only the door, and she allowed her chakra to seep into it, colouring the world around her. She took her palm away and blinked away the molecular structure with practised ease.

The door now pulsed with her chakra, invisible to anyone's eyes but hers. Well, she glanced at Itachi sourly, hers, any remaining Uchihas and the entire Hyuuga clan.

"That will alert me to anyone entering the flat," Sakura explained, "I'll need to renew it every few hours, but it should prevent us being taken by surprise in the event of an attack."

Itachi nodded, dropping his disguise instantly. He stood before her in his natural guise, and suddenly the mission became very real. Uchiha Itachi was under her supervision and living in her flat with her. And Sasuke had no idea.

"Would you like a tour?" She asked, completely at a professional loss, resorting to her knowledge of social niceties.

Itachi paused, glancing up at her through his thick eyelashes in a way that, on anyone else, she would have described as coy.

"Yes, thank you." He eventually replied, straightening up in anticipation of resuming his habit of following her around. She sighed, crossing the living room in a few strides.

"This," She gestured widely around her, "is the living room. You can't eat in here or use drinks without coasters. Follow me through here and – here we have the kitchen," She breezed through the doorway, entering the next room with a smile on her face.

Her plants sat on the countertops as though waiting for her return. She stroked a leaf, examining it fondly.

Itachi took in the sight of her little home-grown forest, his eyebrows quirked upwards in silent question.

Sakura took the time to check the moistness of the soil as he tried to formulate a suitable remark.

"…Well, we all need a hobby." He shrugged, "How do you manage to keep them alive whilst going on missions? Such irregular hours – "

"If I'm not here to water them, my friends do it for me. For example," Sakura grimaced, picking up a fallen kitchen knife, "Kakashi-sensei enjoys letting himself in, spraying the plants ineffectually with water to excuse his presence, then wreaking havoc with various household items. And now he has apparently moved on to messing with my cutlery, it seems."

"'Letting himself in'?" Itachi repeated, leaning against the doorframe, his eyelids halfway closed, his bottom lip caught between his teeth, "He has a key?"

"He has done for years," Sakura said indifferently, "Naruto does as well. It's supposed to be for emergencies and convenience, not that that stops him from leaving his filthy literature in various places or rearranging my toiletries."

Itachi smirked, "You trust him with your possessions despite his behaviour?"

"Oh, he sometimes leaves me presents or fixes the plumbing while he's here. I try to think of him as a mild inconvenience with occasional reparations. And Yuki likes him, which is noteworthy indeed."

"Yuki?"

Sakura pointed.

Yuki sat on top of the refrigerator, staring down at Itachi.

"Ah," He smiled slightly, "So that's what I could sense. She's rather lovely, isn't she?"

He stuck his hand in front of her nose slowly, allowing her to smell him. Sakura held her breath. Yuki's nose twitched, her tail flicking back and forth. Itachi's mild smile did not waver for a second.

To Sakura's disbelief, Yuki began to purr, rubbing her face against Itachi's hand shamelessly.

"That means she's accepted me, right? I've never had a cat." Itachi said, his tone a touch wistful.

"Well, Yuki's quite a discerning judge of character," Sakura informed him, her mouth twitching into a surprised smile, "She nearly took a chunk out of Kakashi when they first met, which says it all really."

"Indeed." Itachi's gaze was warm and amused, his strong fingers gently stroking under Yuki's chin, "Do you live alone?"

Sakura started slightly, the question bringing up several unpleasant memories.

"Yes," She said shortly, careful to keep her tone free of emotion, "I have done for several years. You can sleep in my old room." She said briskly, walking out of the kitchen without another word.

"Just when I thought she was warming up to me." Itachi said thoughtfully, rubbing the cat's head absently. He gazed after Sakura, hearing her movements faintly through the walls. Yuki let out a tiny, sleepy mew and slid, boneless, into his arms.

* * *

And so begins the tender, heartwarming shenanigans a la sitcom style, friends slowly becoming more over pizza – wait. No. Shinobi. Um, enemies warming up to each other over mutual love of… sharp implements?

Sakura is very, very prickly and cold at the mo. It'd be nice to write her more warmly, but considering everything that's happened, I think it would be a little unrealistic :(

An anon recently mentioned that my notes are too long and don't really say anything important – well, I'm sorry about that, I do waffle on a bit, but you can always not read them? I'm not being sarcastic, just not willing to sacrifice the only place I get to waffle on pointlessly! :)

Yuki, you slut. What about Lee?

Sasuke had a bitchfit. Happens a lot with that poor little dear. Any hint of someone actually caring and he will gnaw his own arm off to get the hell out of there. I will never understand Bad Boy types, honestly.

Aaaaaand the plot begins! *happy dance* I'm loving writing this story so far :)

**Quick poll for fun: **Favourite fairy tale?

I can't possibly choose myself, to be honest, I'm thoroughly in love with the whole genre as a whole :3


	12. Establishing Boundaries, Lonely Outcasts

Sakura was in the state between dreaming and waking, a muddled sort of awareness, so the brush of chakra against hers was enough to jolt her completely into consciousness.

She sat up, a gasp on her lips and a kunai in her hand, and saw immediately what had woke her.

Itachi stood in the doorway, an almost sheepish look on his face, Yuki in his arms.

Sakura was clad in her usual sleeping attire, a thin top and shorts, so she deemed her reaction completely understandable considering the circumstances – she shrieked and yanked the covers up to her chin.

"Um," Itachi said, for once sounding completely nonplussed, "Yuki would not stop meowing, so I can only assume she is hungry, but I could not find any cat food –"

"OK," Sakura mumbled, voice hoarse from sleep. She remained half-hidden under the covers, only venturing out to glare at him, "Turn around. Get out of my room. And close the door."

"But, Yuki –"

"What time is it?"

"Seven thirty." He responded promptly.

"Yuki doesn't get fed until _eight_ thirty. She's playing you. Go back to sleep."

Itachi gave the cat in his arms a betrayed look. She let out a famished meow, sounding imploring.

He finally retreated, leaving Sakura wide-awake in the mid-morning gloom, furious and slightly hungry.

She spent another hour or so tossing and turning before finally giving in, cursing the Uchiha name under her breath as she grabbed her dressing gown.

When she left her room, she found Itachi rifling through her cupboards, Yuki winding her way around his legs.

"Are you seriously an S-rank nin?" Sakura snorted, retrieving the box of cat food from its usual place on top of the fridge, "Out of the way, she'll actually be hungry by now."

Itachi stood back as Sakura expertly poured out a handful of cat food into a metal bowl on the floor, Yuki purring at her feet.

"Lesson number one," She said, resigned to her new living situation already, "Cat food is on top of the fridge. Don't feed Yuki whenever she looks hungry. She _always _looks hungry and obesity is just as serious for cats as it is for humans. Cats will pick at their food and stop when they're full, unlike most dogs. It doesn't really matter if you put too much food in at the assigned times. Got it?"

Itachi simply nodded.

"Lesson number two," She moved over to her bedroom, pointing at the doorway, "Do you see this threshold? Please imagine there is an invisible line across it, and if you cross that line, I will kill you. OK?"

"You sleep in a double bed," Itachi said by way of reply, fairly randomly, "Does this exclusion from your bedroom only apply to myself?"

Sakura gave him a look of pure loathing. He didn't even flinch, a little smile playing about his lips.

"As it happens, no. Strangers are not, as a rule, allowed in my room. Not that _that_ is any of your business." She resisted the urge to add _bastard_ at the end of that sentence.

"I'm hardly a stranger," He said, seemingly genuinely put-out, "We've –"

Sakura pointed at her room and shook her head firmly, as though dealing with a misbehaving puppy, "No. I need my privacy and if I can't keep you out of my whole apartment, I will at least reserve the right to one room for myself."

"I'm not begrudging you that right," He said prudently, "I'm merely concerned that you still don't trust me."

"Would you consider it the smart decision to trust you right away?" Sakura crossed her arms, purple dressing gown rippling with the movement.

"No," He allowed, his little smile growing, "It just makes me wonder what I should do in order to prove myself trustworthy."

_Go back in time and don't slaughter your entire clan,_ Sakura wanted to say, if only to see the look on his face.

"Clean up after yourself and don't overfeed my cat," She said instead, shrugging, "I'm a woman of simple needs."

That earned her a chuckle, "Fair enough."

xxxxxxxx

His presence in the village was hardly a secret, and yet the angry crowd that had formed following Naruto's announcement was nowhere to be seen now that he had taken residence in his old home. In fact, the state of the Compound made it clear that no one had walked the streets for years.

He was not surprised they had avoided it. Something cursed seem to hang in the air, the pain and betrayal from that one night still lingering behind.

So the timid knock at his door startled him badly enough to have him reach for a kunai at his waist, a weapon he was no longer permitted to carry, his fingers grasping nothing but the air.

He padded down the dusty stairs soundlessly, instinctively relying on his stealth now that his chakra and weapons had been taken from him.

The front door opened to reveal Sakura on his doorstep, a crate of tomatoes in her hands and a stubborn look on her face.

"Before you say something cruel or slam the door in my face," Sakura said firmly, "I just wanted to make something clear. I am not trying to help you because I love you. I want to help you because I am your friend, just like Naruto, and I don't want you to be alone. So take the stupid tomatoes and let me take you out to dinner to fatten you up. At this rate, visitors are going to think we starve our rehabilitated criminals."

Sasuke had nothing to say in the face of this obviously prepared tirade, so he leant against the doorframe, picking out something easy, "Tomatoes?"

"There are some benefits to being a massive stalker in your childhood, you know." Sakura grumbled, glowering down at the crate of fruit, "Like knowing the object of your affection's favourite food. I picked this up at the market because I am a fantastic friend. Now, dinner?"

Sakura truly had changed. Not a blush in sight, no stammer… and her voice was no longer sweet, her gaze not wide-eyed in admiration – instead she seemed wholly reluctant to be there, a scowl on her pretty face. He wondered why she had bothered to come all the way through the Compound, gone to the trouble to buy him his favourite food, all to invite him to a dinner she obviously did not want to attend.

"Hmph." Sasuke groused, taking the crate out of her hands and bringing it into the house. He left the front door open behind him, something Sakura obviously took as an invitation because he could hear her light footsteps following him.

He dropped the crate onto a table in the living room, watching Sakura's reaction to his dwelling.

She didn't look disgusted by the mess, just concerned, "Sasuke, are you sure it's OK for you to be living here? Naruto did arrange for you to have a flat of your own…"

"It's fine." He replied, studying the tomatoes, testing their ripeness beneath his grip.

"Well, good." She straightened up, a half-smile flitting across her face before something chased it away. The memory of how he had spoken to her, perhaps?

He had been cruel, he had been blunt, and he had been absolutely honest.

There had been a short period in his life where he had considered the life he could have in Konoha, with Team Seven. He could be promoted multiple times, maybe join the Anbu. He could have hundreds of missions with Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi. Nothing would ever have to change. He could hold on to the tentative almost-happiness that life had brought him.

But then, at twelve, his whole life had been built on his own goal. It was what he had devoted his time to every day, his blood and sweat but never tears, what had kept him apart from his peers and made him utterly focused on _getting stronger._

Because then, the dreams had been more vivid. More real. His memory was like going through the real thing over and over again, every night in his sleep, his mother's face, his father's body and his brother's eyes. They haunted him.

The only thing that made him keep going was the thought of bringing justice down upon his brother, of appearing before him, now impossibly strong, no longer the scared little boy he had kicked around so easily, but a real, genuine threat. Then finally crushing him, forcing him to feel the fear the clan must have felt, to know that their deaths were near and coming from a member of their own family. He had wanted Itachi to _beg_ for his forgiveness, his mercy, to end it quickly. Then Sasuke would echo the same speech that had taunted him throughout his life_, if you want to kill me… curse me! Hate me! And live a long and unsightly life… Run away… run away… and cling to your pitiful life._

Then he would kill him, as slowly and painfully as possible, cherishing the moment he had lived for.

He had planned his revenge for so long. He lived it, breathed it, used it to make himself stronger.

And in turn, it became too strong for him to resist.

When Orochimaru came, whispering promises and gifting him with a taste of power, _real_ power, it had seemed like a sign.

Sakura's tearful pleas… her pain, her sincerity, her honest and real declaration of love… they had surprised him, shamed him and stuck with him for the rest of his life. Every word had tugged at his heart, slowing his steps until he had eventually stopped. It would have been so easy to turn around, allow her to embrace him and lead him back home. Sasuke always made the hard choices.

When he had seen her again on the battlefield neither of them had any part of, frightened and shaking in the cold, he knew she would follow him gladly, willingly, just as she would have done four years before. All he needed to do was say the words.

Sasuke always made the hard choices.

Instead, he had mocked her, using her own words against her. She had flinched, pain etched in every line of her face, clearly not realising what lay beneath his words. He had remembered her speech, word for word, four years later. It had _meant_ something to him. In the days of hard, bone-breaking training under Orochimaru's sharp gaze, his flesh stitched back together by Kabuto, he had carried her words with him like a prayer. They had felt like a flower unfurling in his chest. Hope.

_I… I love you with all my heart!… If you were to stay here with me, there would be no regrets… because every day we'd do something fun, we'd be happy I swear!… I would do anything for you! so… Please just stay with me!_

He left her there, shivering in the cold, alone in the dark.

But her words had once again stuck with him, carved into his mind_. If you die fighting Itachi, you'll die a tool!_

He couldn't ignore the truth in those words.

His revenge, his life, stolen by this delicate, kind girl's wisdom.

"Sasuke? I was just wondering if you would mind if I just tidied this place up a bit. I mean, I can dust the surfaces and maybe air out the rooms –" She cut herself off with a shriek as he suddenly appeared before her, her wrists caught in his hands.

He stared at her face searchingly; her eyes wide, mouth open in shock.

"Did you mean what you said?" He asked. The question felt like a lick of flame, it dripped scorching hot from his tongue. Sakura began to mumble something, her brow creased in confusion, and his face drew closer to hers, "When we were twelve, you said you loved me. You said the same yesterday. Even with my absence, my betrayal, can you honestly tell me you have loved me all this time?"

Sakura's eyes couldn't decide where to look; they kept darting around the room, anywhere but his face. Beneath his fingers he could feel her trembling. Her tongue swiped her bottom lip nervously, leaving it glistening. He was close enough to count her eyelashes.

She seemed to be at a loss for words.

Sasuke closed his eyes, dropping his forehead to rest against hers, suddenly weary down to his bones.

"I just need this," He whispered, hardly knowing what he was saying, "I just need you to say it."

"I – I have always loved you," Sakura said finally, "I didn't think you would ever question that."

"_Why._"

"Why? Why do I love you? I don't know how to put it into words, it's a feeling – I can't even remember _not_ feeling it. It started before I knew you, just the sight of you, and then it grew when we became a team. You were strong and confident and brave… You were prepared to die for Naruto. You saved me over and over again… You were so far out of my league… you were something safe to aim for, to wish I could have. I never knew how much I loved you until you left. It was like you'd ripped my heart out. That pain… it never really went away. No other man ever even caught my eye… I could only ever see you, even when you weren't there."

He had felt bitterly lonely for too long. A self-made outcast is still an outcast.

His eyes still closed, he felt his hands leave her wrists. She did not step away, but rather stayed where she was, her breath still washing over his mouth.

Perhaps it was the feel of her, the warmth that she radiated, or the simple words she had spoken, that made him open his eyes and lower his mouth to almost touch hers.

She started badly, her head jerking away.

He regained himself, blinking rapidly, and stepped backwards.

"Sasuke-kun," She whispered, eyes still wide. She had clearly forgotten the anger that had driven her to drop the suffix, "What is –"

"Get out." He said calmly, turning away.

"Sasuke-kun –"

"_Get out._" He snarled, one hand splayed over his face, the other waving her concerned touch away.

He heard her stutter impotently for a few seconds before stumbling backwards, finally sprinting out of the house through the open door.

He waited until he was certain she had gone, then put his fist through the crate of tomatoes.

xxxxxxxx

She found Itachi sitting with a pile of her books at his side, already deep into the only novel she possessed, a slight line between his brows.

"Put that back," She gasped for breath, leaning against the door, "It's terrible."

Itachi looked up, now frowning at her instead of down at the pages, "Have you been training?" He asked, sounding interested.

"I don't – I don't _train_," Sakura snapped, not caring if he mocked her for the admission, "I have been – well I ran really far."

Her every nerve was alight and she couldn't seem to stop moving. She started to pace up and down, her mind buzzing with the events of the past hour.

Itachi, who could probably run to Suna and back in an hour and not even break a sweat, tilted his head and leaned forward, closing the book, "Were you running away from something or toward it? If you were running away from something, should I be prepared for an attack? And if you were in fact, running toward something, I can only assume that something was myself, in which case, can I help you?"

"You can _help me_," Sakura said savagely, "by shutting up."

Itachi obediently shut his mouth, looking completely innocent.

All of her thoughts were completely muddled, mostly laced with profanity and half seemed to consist solely of the same phrase – _what the fuck?_

"Were you running for the pleasure of running?" Itachi inquired politely.

"Pleasure?" Sakura repeated disbelievingly, "_Running?_ Have you missed the whole cat-plant-nurse lifestyle thing I've cultivated over the years? Do I really seem like I run for fun?"

Itachi's dark eyebrows rose a fraction, a purposeful, quelling move that made her feel like a kid being scolded.

"I think," He said mildly, "that you should tell me why you ran home."

For a moment Sakura simply stared at him, wild-eyed, then she span back around, hands tugging at her hair in agitation.

"You are literally the last person I would talk to about this," She said honestly, "Seriously. Take my word for it."

Considering his talent for acting, his look of curiosity might have been feigned, but Sakura felt oddly certain it was genuine.

She sighed, flopping down on the couch opposite him. "OK, I'll explain in the vaguest of terms. There's a friend I have, and they have never once indicated… _interest_ in me. Ever. But today, really out of blue, they just – they tried to _kiss me._ And I'm so confused now."

Itachi's face contorted. Sakura realised he had been expecting shinobi-flavoured drama, not the type usually reserved for hormonal adolescents.

"Well, did you ask them why they kissed you?" Itachi asked reasonably.

"They didn't kiss me, I moved – I couldn't ask, he kicked me out the moment he realised what he was doing." She said morosely.

"I see. Well, you will only end up more confused if you try to figure out his reasoning without asking him. I would advise you to keep your mind off it and leave him to calm down for a while, then try asking again."

Sakura took a deep breath, messing her hair up with both hands, relieving some of the tense energy she had been buzzing with ever since the guy she loved nearly kissed her then freaked out about it. "He'll pretend it never happened, and he'll get angry if I bring it up. It just really, really sucks because he just so happens to be the guy that –" She cut herself off, staring at Itachi in shocked horror, because had she actually just been about to talk to him about being in love with his brother? That was just… ten kinds of wrong mixed together.

"The guy that what?" Itachi leaned forward, dark eyes twinkling, "Could we possibly be talking about the future Mr Haruno?"

Now it was Sakura's turn for face-contorting. "_No._" She choked out, "He is so not the marrying type. Well," she amended, thinking of Sasuke's speech about 'reviving' his clan, "Not the marrying _me_ type."

Itachi frowned, "Why not? There's nothing wrong with you."

"Yeah, well, it's not really me that's stopping him, I guess," Sakura said gloomily, "It's his own stupid fault. Any hint of happiness and he runs screaming for the hills. I'm getting tired of chasing him."

"It sounds as though this boy needs to grow up a little before he is ready for a relationship." Itachi said curtly.

"He's got issues. It's not really his fault, I guess," She sighed again, feeling drained and more than a little self-pitying, "I just wish he realised what he does to the people that care about him."

"He doesn't make you happy, does he?" Itachi said shrewdly, not really asking a question. Sakura swallowed hard against the lump that suddenly formed in her throat. "You deserve more than waiting for someone to grow up and having to deal with the pain they cause in the meantime."

Sakura had to close her eyes against the ache that washed over her at his words. Still, she felt her eyes moisten and cleared her throat, standing up abruptly.

"Right, what do you want for dinner?" She asked shortly, turning her face away from him. She heard him give a thoughtful hum.

"I have no preference," He said easily, "I dislike being a burden, though, so perhaps I could help you cook?"

"_Can _you cook?" She asked, raising her eyebrow dubiously. Her eyes safely dry once more, she turned back to witness his reply.

He licked his lips, looking away slyly, "I can cook when required."

Sakura pressed her lips together. She didn't really want to encourage the domesticity Itachi seemed to have embraced, and cooking with him would make for a fairly comfortable scene indeed.

"I'll just do it myself, it's no problem," She dismissed the issue entirely, "Naruto's giving me a nice hand-out for your weekly upkeep. It's up to me to keep you fed and watered."

Itachi's gaze darkened at that, "I wish I could pay for myself. I should not be a drain on your resources."

"Hey, did you even hear what I just said? I'm. Getting. Paid. For. This. It's really not a problem. As long as you keep quiet and don't have any wild parties when I'm out, it's OK. And don't touch my plants."

"I feel like a kept woman," Itachi muttered, "Or a pet."

"My very own pet serial killer," Sakura said solemnly, heading towards the kitchen, "Joy of joys."

xxxxxxxx

This was a fun chapter to write! I can see Itachi being an early bird for sure, which was the inspiration for the opening scene. My grandma's the same, whenever she stops at our house she gets up at six every day to vacuum the house. Every. Single. Day.

I'm pretty sure all dust in the house vacates the area whenever she arrives, fleeing in sheer terror of her vacuumy ways.

I just so happened to go to the cinema on Tuesday to see Star Trek again (just as awesome as the first time!) and it just so happened that I went with a guy I like, just the two of us. Which would normally be awesome, right? Well, no, because near the end of the movie I started feeling sick. Like, legit dying sick. It was really horrible. Two seconds before the end credits rolled, I darted out of the room, collapsed in the hallway and accosted a staff member, demanding they tell me where the bathroom was.

As it happens, I just needed to throw up, I was not actually dying as I mistakenly believed. And my friend very nicely waited for me and drove me home, and didn't seem too revolted by the whole experience. But for someone as clumsy, accident-prone and general walking disaster area as me, it's kind of the norm to embarrass myself in public, which kind of sucks! But it means I don't embarrass so easily anymore, which meant I strolled out of the bathroom quite happily, assured the staff members it wasn't something I ate so there would be no impending suing, then made a joke out of it with my friend.

Which is nice, actually. Is this growing up? If so, awesome. It feels pretty great to be able to just shrug stuff off.

Anywho, Sasuke, he of the potential asexuality and dubious genitalia, may have actually moved his lips closer to someone else's! This is a matter of grave importance and possibly a sign of a future apocalypse.

I tried to get inside his head in this chapter, explore his motives and everything, and it wasn't the god awful, getting-your-teeth-pulled level of torture as I had assumed it would be. If he was out of character… shit.

Itachi is a kept woman and also a serial killing pet.

Yuki has a delicate stomach.

Since I really like the idea of Sakura casually using her super-strength in public, I had her carry a crate of tomatoes all the way across town because even though we so rarely see it in canon, Sakura is a first-rate, A+ level badass and the townsfolk (and Sasuke) should be reminded of that daily! (It was a really big crate of tomatoes) Also SYMBOLISM ~~~

Every time I employ symbolism in a story by accident, my brain catches up a little while later and goes, hur hur, that means something else, right? And I'm like, yes, well done brain, you clever bundle of tissue and nerves. That happened with the Sasuke-smashing of the crate. Honestly, it's only after studying writing properly have I realised how much I actually suck at it.

I think I might have finally pinned down Itachi's true character (in this story at least), but who knows. That blighter's a tricky, changeable little shit.

If Kishimoto backtracks and he's suddenly evil again I am going to LOSE MY SHIT.

Oh yeah, btw, **spoilers for the manga and lots of profanity **but seriously - what the fuck Sasuke. Go the fuck away, do not shit all over Naruto's dream and then try to steal it you fucking dick-faced little bitch! Like you could ever be Hokage! EVERYONE HATES YOU, FOR GOOD REASON. YOU WANTED TO KILL EVERYONE AND DESTROY THE VILLAGE AND THE LITERAL ONLY REASON YOU DIDN'T IS BECAUSE IT WAS ALREADY DESTROYED YOU CONTRARY MARY.

*ahem*

Poll time.

**Quick poll before I reach through my screen into fictional feudal Japan and smother Sasuke's stupid face: **If you could change one thing in Naruto, what would it be?

Me, I'd change Sakura's inconsistent characterisation. Or erase Sasuke from existence. Difficult choice.


End file.
